"The Xiyi Huizhao (huǐyì) lives here, but in the past years tributes have not come in, and there are officials who are ashamed of it. Now that it has been reduced to the common people, it has become a good place." In the camp at night, Shao Shude was still reading through various historical records since the dynasty.
Class literature.
If you want to manage a place well, it is obviously impossible to understand the actual situation. In addition, previous experience can also point out some detours, so you don't need to take them again.
Generally speaking, reading this kind of literature is boring, but sometimes you can find some fun, such as this paragraph.
If the states of Shen, Guang, Cai, etc. do not pay tribute and do not hand in household registration, that is where barbarians and poisonous snakes live. If these things are done, then it is a good place. The logic is simple and crude, and it is extremely clear.
"Commander, dinner is here." The soldiers brought him food.
"Let Deputy Envoy Chen and Envoy Zhao come to have a meal together."
"As commanded."
Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng arrived soon, and the commander often invited them to have dinner together. This was a sign of respect and favor.
"Commander, is this Lanzhou Japonica rice porridge?" Chen Cheng took a look and said with a smile.
"Last year's old rice was sent from the city. Lanzhou is the most fertile land. When Liu Yuanding passed through Lanzhou sixty years ago, all he saw was japonica rice. Let's have a taste today." Shao Shude greeted.
There were some fruits, preserved fruits, milk, and fish on the table. The three of them finished eating and drinking in a short while.
"Commander, during the day the troops killed thousands of Tibetans in the two states, and captured 1,300 people. They are all elites of the tribe. Now they can only escape more than 2,000 people. They should be discouraged. Why don't you send people to surrender?"
After finishing the meal, Chen Cheng suggested.
Linzhou has jurisdiction over Didao (now Lintao) and Changle (near today's Kangle County) counties, and governs Didao.
Hezhou has jurisdiction over three counties: Wuhan (southwest of present-day Linxia County), Fenglin (eighty miles south of Linxia), and Daxia (in present-day Guanghe County). It governs Wuhan.
These five counties all had a large population during the Tianbao period. Because they were close to the front line of the battle with Tubo, the imperial court moved many people to settle there. Linzhou was still part of Lanzhou at the time and had not been separated. However, the three counties of Hezhou had a large population during the Tianbao period.
There are more than 36,000 Han people, and the number of registered residences has basically returned to that of the Northern Zhou and Sui dynasties.
The main reason to be able to support so many people is that there is a large river valley and alluvial plain that is conducive to irrigation, and three counties are located here. Even now, these tributaries of the Yellow River still provide abundant water sources, but the Tubo people are not very interested in using it.
.
"Of course we have to recruit surrender." Shao Shude nodded and said: "Recruit whatever you can, so as to reduce some casualties. However, the Tubo people may not give up. The surrender they want may mean that everything is as usual, but they are just surrendering to someone on the surface.
But if someone asks for something, send officials, garrison troops, or collect taxes, the Tibetans may not agree."
This is indeed very possible.
River, the Tibetans in the second state suffered heavy losses outside Lanzhou City. General Meiguxi was killed in battle, and only more than 2,000 people fled back. According to the current situation, they definitely did not dare to fight and sent people to recruit them. If
If you are only satisfied with regaining the lost territory on the surface, then the possibility of success is extremely high. But if you want to actually control He and Linwu counties, and everything is ruled according to the Han prefectures and counties, the local Tibetans may not be willing. This involves who has the local power.
Problem at hand.
I won’t shed tears until I see the coffin.
It won't work if you don't put some pressure on them. I don't know, but I still have to send out a large army to go south. It may not necessarily require a war, but I still have to go.
"Commander, the two prefectures of Shan and Kuo in the west, and the Min, Tao, Die, and Dang prefectures in the south are ignored for now. He and Lin prefectures must be taken down." Chen Cheng asked someone to bring over a map and said: "Today's collection
The army reported that the troops on the southeast route had captured the Tubo stronghold in Dalai Valley and killed more than a thousand enemies. At this point, the post roads to Lin and Hezhou were opened. In the early years of the Chinese Dynasty, the Wei River was the most important road from Chang'an to the Western Regions.
Now that we have Weizhou in our hands, if we don't take Hezhou and Linzhou, it will be a dead end and its meaning will be greatly reduced."
Starting from the west of Weiyuan County in Weizhou, along the river valley post road at the northern foot of Niaoshu Mountain, you can reach Didao County in Linzhou for a hundred miles.
Didao is also a very important transportation node. From there, it goes north along the flat Taoshui River Valley and crosses Wogan Ridge, with a total mileage of 190 miles to Lisuo Wuquan County, Lanzhou.
From Didao to the west, you can also go to Hezhou via the river valley flat road, and then cross Hezhou to the west to Shanzhou.
To put it simply, if Didao County and the long castle in the north of the county are not in hand, then the most convenient transportation line between Lanzhou and Weizhou will be cut off. Three years ago in Tianbao, the two counties of Linzhou belonged to Lanzhou.
At that time, Didao was considered as a traffic mouthpiece.
"So Linzhou must be held in hand." Chen Cheng concluded.
"It's a pity not to have Hezhou in our hands. I suggest sending troops to take it. With the two prefectures of He and Lin in hand, Shanzhou seems to be also available. The remaining states can be settled temporarily and we can take them when we have time." Zhao Guangfeng said.
Shao Shude looked at the map and was considering another angle.
Most of the elite agricultural zones in Hezhou, Linzhou and Weizhou are within 2,000 meters above sea level. Most of the three counties in Shanzhou and Kuozhou are also at an altitude of 2,000 meters. Some counties are slightly higher, but they are also limited.
These dozen counties are all at altitudes that Kanto immigrants can adapt to, and there are a large number of river valleys and plains with fertile soil, so they can indeed be developed vigorously.
But other states are either covered with overlapping mountains and the plains are so small that they are like chicken ribs. Or the altitude is so high, about 3,000 meters, that it is not worth the effort to capture it for the time being. The best way is to surrender the local Tibetan and Qiang people.
People, please don't waste your energy.
"He, Linwu County..." Shao Shude pondered for a moment and said: "Since its main force has been severely damaged, we should send troops to capture it. Shan and Kuo two prefectures, let's take another look. Send people in advance to recruit them. If you wish, you can surrender.
If you don’t want to surrender, we’ll talk about it later.”
"Commander is wise." Chen and Zhao said in unison.
"Send an order to Zhang Yanqiu and ask him to lead the Zhenwu Army. The Tiande Army will go south and cooperate with Yang Yue to attack the two counties of Linzhou." Shao Shude said: "In a few days, I will personally lead the army down the river to Linzhou and meet with the Tubo tribes.
Alliance."
"Commander, do you want to give Commander Yang the order to attack Minzhou in the south? The Fufuling family has always been unruly and thinks very highly of themselves. They will not take advantage of the army here to go south in one go. If they attack again in the future, they will have to fight again." Zhao Guangfeng
said suddenly.
In his opinion, this Fu Fuling clan is very abominable and very harsh to the people of the Tang Dynasty. If he does not kill this thief, there will never be peace in Wei and Lin states in the future.
"How powerful are the two states south of Minzhou and Dangzhou?"
"Returning to the commander-in-chief, after the fall of Tibet in the first year of Guangde, Tubo has always occupied it. However, in the past twenty years, the power of the Qiang people has gradually increased. In two states and four counties, the Tubo rule is in danger, and the Qiang people are actually autonomous in the local area. In addition, during the Gaozong Dynasty,
Some places in Fangzhou, which was trapped by Fan, are also dominated by the Qiang people." Zhao Guangfeng replied: "If Minzhou is conquered and restored, we can send people to appease it and restrain the tribe."
"You two have such a big appetite." Shao Shude said with a smile: "The Helongzhou states have been trapped in Tibet for more than a hundred years, and the people's sentiments are complicated. Just now, I have been thinking about which key points should be controlled and how many troops should be stationed. I can't imagine your appetite.
It’s so big, do you want General Dingnan’s military base to be moved here as well?”
"In the early years of the imperial dynasty, the Tibetan invaders mainly marched along the Huangshui River, Taoshui River, and the Great River. Therefore, the imperial court established Heyuan Army, Momen Army, and Jishi Army to suppress it, with more than 20,000 people in total." Shao Shude added: "If a certain person
To completely control Lan, Lin, He, Wei, Min, Die, Dang, Shan, Kuo, Tao and other prefectures, how many troops should be sent to stay behind?"
After that, Shao Shude asked Li Renfu to hang the map on the wall and said: "Hezhou, Guangwu Liang, Changcheng Castle, Didao, Dalai Valley, Fenglin Pass, and Luomenchuan are all important transportation passes. If possible,
All troops need to be stationed to stay, but the strength of the disaster-defeating army is not enough, so it is impossible to keep too many troops."
"In Didao County, one army should be left to take charge of the line from Chang Castle in the north to Dalai Valley in the south."
"Fenglin Pass is adjacent to the river to the north, Jishi to the west, and Likou to the east. It is very important for east-west transportation. There is also a ferry to Fenglinjin, and you can cross the river to the north to reach Shanzhou."
"Guangwu Liang is located on the east side of where Huangshui River enters the river and connects to Shanzhou in the west. It is also particularly important."
"To pacify the city and defend the city, between Fenglin County and Hezhou, blocking the main road, we must also set up an army."
"Weishui River Valley..."
Shao Shude pointed out five important nodes in one breath, all of which required garrisoning troops.
Defense is a system, and it is not something that many people think is done once the army is stationed in Guancheng. In fact, this is not enough. Guancheng generally only blocks the biggest and best way, and there are trails around it, which must also be done.
Build a stronghold for garrison. Some may only be able to station a dozen people, which is a beacon, but it is also a part of the defense system.
Just like the garrison in Didao County, if the Tubo invaded, they would most likely pass through the Dalai Valley, because this is the most suitable place to garrison the army and solve many problems such as drinking water, wood collection, and pasture. Therefore, they usually build strongholds here.
The garrison there is under the jurisdiction of Didao Town General. In the same way, the long castle more than thirty miles north of Didao must also be garrisoned. If there is a police officer, troops should be sent to rescue it.
A lot of troops will be stationed, Shao Shude sighed.
This is something he has always tried to avoid, but at this point, the territory is getting wider and wider, the terrain and the people's sentiments are complicated. If you don't station a large army to guard it, people will definitely not obey you.
Why did the Hetao tribe, the Hengshan tribe, and the Yinshan tribe submit? It wasn’t because Marshal Shao’s ruling center was there, with large armies gathered and strong influence.
Throwing an army of 10,000 to 20,000 people into these ten counties is really a luxury.
But how can I put it, even if you don't occupy the river and Linwu County, just to defend Lan and Weizhou, you still have to station a large army. Moreover, the defense system has been torn apart, and there is a big gap missing. So it is better to simply occupy it.
Hezhou, level the defense line and expand it to the periphery, so that Lanzhou is no longer the front line, but can develop with peace of mind.
"Commander, if we send out all the government troops to defend, it will of course be very expensive. For the current plan, we should spread the army to farm, farm and fight." Chen Cheng and Zhao Guangfeng seemed to have a countermeasure in advance, and they suggested together.
"Where did the field army come from?" Shao Shude asked.
"Go to Henan to recruit troops."
"You are applying for the Yamen Army. Are you going to be a field soldier?"
"You just need to apply for the recruitment of civilians, promise huge profits, and then send veterans of the Yamen Army to serve as commanders at all levels, just like the story in Huizhou."
Then the population allocated to Lingzhou will be less, Shao Shude sighed.
"Let's perfect it slowly. Tomorrow we will go into Lanzhou City with a certain person and ask some people who are familiar with the internal affairs of the neighboring states before making further calculations."
