"Is Thief Shao still in Chang'an?" In Caozhou City, Zhu Quanzhong had just seen off a group of guests.
The guests are from Hebei, including people from King Chengde and envoys from the Youzhou warlord...
Li Keyong's conquest of Youzhou was not thorough. Ying and Mozhou had a population of one million and were strong. However, in order to quickly stabilize the situation, he mainly focused on recruiting peace.
It is conceivable that this act of appeasement comes at a price.
Lu Wenjin and Liu Rengong are just outsiders who may betray Li Keyong at any time, while Shan Keji is a reckless man who is unconvinced. Even the three brothers of the Gao family in Youzhou may not be willing to surrender for a long time. Once something unexpected happens, they will almost always rebel.
certain.
This is the consequence of rapid expansion, and Li Keyong will feel it soon.
"The thieves Shao put down Shi Zan and Li Kuangwei's rebellion put people in the court and treated the emperor like a puppet. In a few days, he may have to abolish and establish him." Li Zhen said: "Your Majesty, why don't you move?
Give a warning to each town and tell them that the Shao thieves slept on the dragon's bed at night, raped and humiliated the concubines, and massacred the kings. He is a rebellious minister and a traitor, and all the towns can work together to fight against him."
Zhu Quanzhong sat down, as if weighing carefully.
It would be very difficult, or even impossible, for all the towns to conquer the Shao thieves together. But the reputation of the Shao thieves was ruined, and the knowledgeable people in the world were disgusted with him. They no longer focused on running to Chang'an, and the vassals no longer submitted to the court.
Yes, it is still possible.
Who asked you to surround Jingzhao Mansion? If something happens in Chang'an, do you want to take care of it? If you do, it will be like yellow mud falling into your crotch, and you can't explain it clearly.
Controlling the Chang'an court has advantages, but it certainly also has disadvantages. There can't be the best of both worlds.
"This is feasible." Zhu Quanzhong said, "We can move it to the towns and let's see if it works or not."
Anyway, it doesn't cost anything, but it can smear Shao Thief's reputation, so why not do it?
Of course, Shao Thief can also smear this side, but the problem is not big. Lao Zhu is not afraid of losing face, and others may not believe it. Anyway, it is certain that Shao Thief entered Chang'an.
Jingxiang disagreed with this.
Li Zhen is very keen on such dirty tricks, but to be honest, he doesn't think it will have any effect.
"Your Majesty, you still have to keep an eye on Hebei." Jingxiang stepped forward and said, "Wang Rong has already sent troops, and General Zhang has also crossed the river and headed north. If we can defeat Li Keyong in Weibo, there will be many benefits."
"General Zhang" was of course not Zhang Shensi, but Zhang Cunjing. He led 20,000 people northward to Weibo to assist Luo Hongxin in defeating Li Keyong.
In addition, Ge Congzhou led ten thousand people to return north from Ruzhou and are currently crossing the river.
With these 30,000 people, plus Wei Bo's army, which had expanded to more than 100,000, Li Keyong could only bring 50,000 to 60,000 people, so the chance of victory was not great.
Faced with Li Keyong's aggressive posture, Zhenzhou Wang Rong was greatly frightened. He sent 30,000 infantry and cavalry to Zhao and Hebei, and was about to launch an offensive to flank Li Keyong's army.
In addition, this famous "wealth-spreading boy" also sent an envoy to Bianzhou with 200,000 coins, 400,000 pieces of silk, and 3,000 war horses, inviting the Bian army to attack together.
Wang Rong is sincere in eliminating Li Keyong's forces that are causing harm to Hebei. He will pay any price for this. If Li Keyong cannot be eliminated even after paying a heavy price, well, Wang Rong will decisively defect to Li Keyong.
A 160,000-strong army has favorable geographical location, popular support, and sufficient logistical supplies. If it can no longer be defeated by Li Keyong's patchwork of less than 60,000 troops, then there is no need to do so.
According to the information obtained, Li Keyong's army included only 30,000 Jin soldiers, less than 10,000 Yan soldiers, and 10,000 river soldiers, plus 10,000 miscellaneous Hu soldiers from the grasslands. In addition, Li Han also had a large number of soldiers along the way.
Thousands, but they went in another direction.
"The people of Wei Zhen were originally scattered, and the generals had their own thoughts. However, when the Jin soldiers came, they may have to work together in the same boat, so the problem is not big." Zhu Quanzhong said: "What I am worried about is not in the north, not in the east, nor in the south, but in
West."
The threat from the north seems to be great, both Xia and Jin are present, but Li Keyong is not attentive, and Wei Bo is strong enough. He is not yet capable of taking it. Hedong is of that size, and it is difficult for him to swallow Youzhou now.
It's already there, and it's still being slowly digested. How could it be possible to eat Wei Bo?
According to Zhu Quanzhong's thinking, Li Keyong's attack on Wei Bo was purely based on his own whim, a waste of time and troops, and very unwise.
In comparison, the threat from the Xia army, which occupied most of Heyang, was more direct.
But they also have a problem, that is, they have migrated a large number of people, including both Tibetan and Han people. It seems that the total number is more than 100,000.
Feeding more than 100,000 people is not an easy job. We have to feed them this year, we have to feed them before the autumn harvest next year, and we have to continue to feed them even after the autumn harvest.
Land that has been reclaimed in the first year and has been abandoned for a long time always has problems of one kind or another. In addition, there are insufficient agricultural tools, seeds, livestock, and damaged water conservancy facilities. There will definitely not be much farmland that can be used for sowing.
Immigrating to Meng and Huaizhou is a big deal, but it will undoubtedly consume a lot of Xia's financial resources.
This is what Shao Shude likes to do. He has always liked to engage in such large-scale projects. Zhu Quanzhong has long seen it after studying him for so many years.
It is true that once the Xia thieves take root in Heyang, and the farmland harvests a large amount of millet, wheat, pasture, and the number of cattle and sheep livestock also increases significantly, it will be the Bian army's turn to suffer later. The two states of Meng and Huai are called fertile soil.
There is no shortage of water. As long as it is managed well, it can indeed be used as a base for money and food.
But it takes time.
Not to mention the threat from the east.
Zhu Quanzhong led his troops to inspect Caozhou, mainly because Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin became active.
Zhu Xuan, overestimating his own strength, led his army out of Puzhou and was repulsed. However, the gains were not big. He captured and killed more than 2,000 people, including 300 Fan cavalry. The surprise was that the Yan soldiers were defeated at Jishui.
On the way, Zhu Jin hurriedly came to rescue Puzhou and was ambushed. The Bian army beheaded 4,000 people and captured more than 3,000 people.
How long has it been since you still dare to fight in the wild?
However, after suffering this boring loss, brothers Zhu Xuan and Zhu Jin should calm down a lot. Now they still have to face the pressure of Qingzhou Wang Normal University. It is not a problem for Qizhou to keep occupying it, not to mention that Er Zhu's military discipline has been corrupted.
The people of Qizhou hated him deeply.
"Your Majesty, Yang Xingmi also needs to pay attention." Jingxiang said with some worry: "Xingmi is evil to Du Hong and has fought many battles. Now that he has captured Huangzhou, he is looking back at Qi and Hubei. I am afraid that Du Hong will be unable to support him.
Think of a way."
In fact, there is another hidden worry that has not been mentioned. After taking a period of rest, Xiangyang Zhao Kuangning will most likely continue to attack Du Hong next year.
How long can Du Hong hold on under attack from two sides?
Looking at the current situation, it seems that they have almost given up on Du Hong as a vassal force. In despair, will they directly join Zhe Zongben?
It was impossible to seek refuge with Yang Xingmi, because Yang was good at killing generals, that is, every time he captured a place, he would recruit middle- and lower-level officials and sergeants. However, high-ranking officials and generals were often killed, so Du Hong was most likely unwilling to surrender.
Fortunately, Zhe Zongben has been suppressed now, and his momentum is not strong enough, otherwise it would be really dangerous.
"There was a report before that the Chuzhou general seems to have made some changes, or may want to join the secret service." Zhu Quanzhong said, the expression on his face looked very calm, with no sign of anger at all.
Li Zhen, Jing Xiang, Wei Zhao, and Pei Di, all present, knew that Chuzhou might be used as a bargaining chip to coordinate their relationship with Yang Xingmi.
There are not many secret troops, with 30,000 "Northern Returners" as the main force, and Heiyun Changjian are all close troops. This is the core force under his direct control. Zhu Yanshou, Tian Wei, An Renyi and other generals each have their own number of troops.
They range from a thousand to more than ten thousand, but they are military leaders, and Yang Xingmi may not trust them, and they may even rebel.
But even so, if Yang Xingmi goes north, he can still draw 30,000 to 40,000 people. Although he is not afraid, it is always a trouble. If they can make a good relationship, that would be great.
The six states of Chu, Si, Shou, Hao, Guang, and Shen along the Huai River are the most important to Xingmi. Zhang Jian, the governor of Sizhou, has surrendered, and Xingmi still appoints him as the governor of Hao, Shou.
The two states are slowly being sorted out. Pei Di has been running there recently with great results, but Chuzhou has not yet been sorted out. As for whether it is intentional or not, everyone has their own opinion.
Maybe it would be a way to make a good relationship with him in Chuzhou, at least to stabilize him first, and then make calculations later? But no one dared to guarantee it, and no one dared to suggest this.
Guangzhou and Shenzhou are now under the rule of Zhang Quanyi. There is great chaos in Fangping. Quanyi works tirelessly and travels to various villages to encourage people to resume farming and rewards farmers whose wheat seedlings grow well. The people feel at ease.
Zhang Quanyi, the military governor, did not have military power. He was more like the governor of the three states. He also transferred many officials from Luoyang to Shen, Guang, and Cai. They were all good at managing civil affairs. The future of the three states was promising.
Zhang Quanyi should not have betrayed him. There are rumors in Bianzhou that his eldest son Zhang Jiye was killed by Shao thieves and falsely claimed to have died of illness. His wife Chu, eldest daughter-in-law Jie, and niece-in-law Su were all raped and humiliated by Shao thieves. I don’t know who it is.
It's hard to say whether the news released has any impact on Zhang Quanyi. He doesn't seem to particularly care about this kind of face-related matter.
"Forget it, we will discuss the Chuzhou matter after the envoy returns from Yangzhou." Seeing that everyone was silent, Zhu Quanzhong was a little annoyed and said: "Now the focus is still on Luoyang. After the river freezes in the twelfth lunar month, Shao Thief will definitely send his cavalry southward.
, be prepared and try to make Shao thief suffer a loss in Henan. You are very brave if you dare to send cavalry southward!"
The situation is like this, and it is actually quite difficult. Luoyang's frontline troops are not sufficient. After Ge Cong went north from Zhou Dynasty, there were only Yang Shihou and Ding Hui in the direction of Ruzhou. Although they could suppress the Xia thieves, their aggressive power was a bit lacking.
, no longer has the absolute advantage of the past.
"Where will Thief Shao go next?" Zhu Quanzhong suddenly asked.
"Or Shuzhong." Jingxiang replied.
"There has been war in central Shu for many years, how many registered permanent residences are there now?"
"During Tianbao's reign, there were more than 800,000 households in Shu. Since the Chao Rebellion, Sanchuan has lost all its wealth and goods to Guanzhong. The taxes and servitude have been extremely heavy, and the people have fled. There has also been chaos caused by thieves and thieves, and the officers and soldiers have killed good people and taken credit for their merits. Chao Rebellion
After the pacification, Chen Jingxuan and others attacked each other, and recently Zhu Mei, Li Maozhen, Mancun, Li Yuan, Wang Xingyu, Wang Xingyue, and Zhao Jian fought endlessly. The Qiang people took the opportunity to cause chaos, burning, killing, looting, and the Shao thieves were still tempting.
There should be only more than 500,000 households of refugees now." Jingxiang replied: "Your Majesty, I feel that the Shao thief will not enter Shu. Wait a few more years and wait for his legitimate son to grow up before he can conquer Shu."
Zhu Quanzhong nodded.
Unconsciously, the Shu region has been in chaos for more than ten years. The greatest value in the east and west rivers is actually silk. More than 500,000 households can collect household taxes of one million pieces of silk and 150,000 yuan. According to this Shuo Fang during the war
, judging from the rewards given to the sergeants in Xuanwu and other towns, each person has to have about ten pieces of money and ten bolts of silk every year, so this household tax can sustain the rewards of more than 40,000 yamen troops for a year.
The food gift is not included, it depends on where your army is stationed. If you are stationed in Shu, you can use the food and grass in Shu for daily consumption, but the food gift is given to the family members of the sergeants. Will their family members follow them to Shu?
What? If you don't go, then the food in Shu will not be used. The army that can be supported will be even less, maybe less than 40,000, only more than 30,000.
But after taking possession of the whole of Shu, you will definitely have to garrison troops, and the minimum number is more than 30,000 people.
In other words, when the Shao bandits attacked Shu, the local taxes collected could not be used. The household taxes were only enough to maintain the local garrison, and there were not many financial benefits.
People from Shu will not be recruited in the conscription. Shao Thief likes to recruit Guanbei and Helong athletes, so why bother?
Maybe local talents can be used, and some business taxes can be collected, but these are small amounts, insignificant compared to household taxes and local taxes.
Compared with the huge investment required to wipe out the Shu territory and the dilemma of almost no tax revenue in the past few years, Shao Thief is not stupid.
The only value of Shu is to establish prestige for his eldest son, build a team, and establish an army. It will have little benefit and even harm for the current world war. Unless you spend twenty years working hard to make it happen.
The land of Shu slowly recovers, and only then can additional money and silk be provided. Or, if they simply levy excessive taxes, a lot of money can be squeezed out now, but most of the Shao thieves are not willing to do this.
"Keep an eye on Shao's movements. If he enters Shu, he will definitely have to fight in person. It is impossible to appoint a general. Most of them will have to transfer sergeants from Heyang and Heluo. Then there will be a chance." Zhu Quanzhong said with a smile: "At that time, my entire army will go south.
Uproot Tang and Deng Sui and cut off one of their arms. Well, first move the ultimatum to each town and say that Shao's attempt to abolish the establishment is actually a national thief, and everyone in the world can punish him."