"Bah!" Li Keyong waved his whip vigorously, furious.
The brocade robe had been beaten to pieces, and blood oozed from the scabbed wound. Li Siben straightened his body and remained motionless.
"Your Majesty..." Gai Yu said softly.
"Master and disciple of the great mourning, if you still have the nerve to come back, you are the one who will be beaten!" Li Keyong kicked him hard twice, and then said: "You don't need to lead the volunteer army anymore, go back and think about your mistakes."
Li Siben bowed and walked away in despair.
He was originally the Pioneer Army envoy, but later the envoys of the various armies were exchanged, and he became the Yier Army. Now that the post of Yier Army Envoy has been removed, the Pioneer Army will definitely not be able to return. It means that it has lost its military power, which is really unlucky.
But thinking about it on the other hand, it’s already good enough if you haven’t been killed, so don’t ask for too much.
"Your Majesty, we have to think about countermeasures now. Ma Ke sent his nephew and more than ten cavalry back to Dezhou. Shao Thief's move is to shake the morale of our army." Gai Yu said.
Shao Shude released Li Siben back and asked the Yiwu Army and the Chengde Army to send people back to report the news. The Chengde Army people went back directly, and the Yiwu Army people rushed to the Luhe River, where the main force of the Jin Army was stationed.
The respective performances of both parties highlighted the distance between the two towns and Hedong.
"What if I continue to attack Dizhou and don't agree to Shao's thieves?" Li Keyong asked.
"The Zhenren may be greatly disappointed. Although it is not impossible to send troops in the future, the resistance will definitely be greater." Gai Yu said: "On the other hand, although the Dingren will not say anything, they must have opinions in their hearts."
"Nonsense!" Li Keyong scolded: "If someone is captured again and again, won't he be controlled by others again and again?"
"Releasing prisoners has happened since ancient times." Gai Yu said, "If the king doesn't want to, just ignore it. But Shao is acting coyly and must be dealt with properly. He shouldn't have whipped General Li just now."
"Humph!" Li Keyong walked around irritably.
If all those captured are soldiers and horses from Hedong, it doesn't really matter. Just ignore them. The sergeants can't make a big splash. Those who eat the food of warriors work for money and sell their lives. No one can be sorry for anyone. Those who are captured must be ransomed.
Yes, this has never been said.
The bad thing this time is that there are still prisoners from the towns of Chengde and Yiding. It would be fine if all of them were dead. It would be a worry-free thing to deal with a hundred people. However, more than 4,000 people were captured. If Wang Rong and Wang Gao asked for help,
Although Li Keyong could refuse to take back these prisoners, and it would not be a big problem, it was still a hidden danger.
This group of guys who succeed only in failure! Li Keyong sighed. According to Li Siben, this time they were completely tricked by the bandits. It would be better not to have them, as they might be able to fight better.
But Chengde is such a large vassal town, and it is so prosperous. It has more than 50,000 elite infantry and cavalry troops, and it is easy to send more than 30,000 elite soldiers out to fight in the town. To control the four states of Hebei, you still need to work hard to win over. After all, there was a war
More than 100,000 horses were mobilized. Who dares to ignore it?
Yi Ding also has 20,000 to 30,000 cavalry. Although he has always been obedient and a die-hard ally, he cannot let them feel too cold.
"The army continues to march towards Dizhou." Li Keyong made a decision and said: "I have made up my mind, no need to say more. Whether to fight or not, how to fight, small or big, we will talk about it at that time."
Gai Yu didn't dare to say anything more. King Jin was in a state of confusion and was obviously blind. He didn't know what to do.
In fact, he also felt that this matter was very difficult, and no matter how he did it, it was not suitable. If he had to come up with a strategy, he felt that it was better to agree to Shao Thief's conditions and stop their troops. Anyway, they would not be able to cross the Yellow River, so he thought
What's the use of venting anger in a small Dizhou?
But the matter has come to this, King Jin has made a decision, and he can only take one step at a time.
****
Ma Xin, Ma Ke's nephew, rushed back to Zhenzhou and reported everything he saw and heard. After Wang Rong learned about it, he immediately summoned his trusted generals to discuss the matter.
Liang Gongru, the chief minister of the shogunate, led the governor of Jizhou.
Zhang Honggui was somewhat related to the Wang family. His uncle Zhang Shouhong once married the eldest daughter of Jiedushi Wang Yuankui and Princess Shouan.
Zhao Liang, commander of Zhuifeng City, was promoted by Wang Rong after he took office.
There are also five or six generals and assistants, most of whom are relatives of the Wang family.
The vassal town of Chengde is a typical family town model. Historically speaking, the generals at all levels and the governors of various states are mostly relatives or relatives of the Wang family, at least more than half of the candidates are like this.
On the surface, this may easily anger the warriors. But in fact, the Wang family pays great attention to propriety, and the benefits that should be given are not limited. The warriors are bribed solidly, and if they are given too much, they have no intention of rebelling.
.
The Wang family's cautious family tradition actually originated from Wang Ting's mutiny.
In the past, Tian Hongzheng, the Chengde Jiedushi envoy, used the town's wealth to reward his family and cronies, which immediately aroused opposition. For example, Tian Hongzheng's brothers and nephews lived in Chang'an and Luoyang, spending 200,000 yuan a day, all relying on
Tian Hongzheng helped, but Chengde sergeant was dissatisfied, so the Yamen general Wang Tingcuo gathered the warriors to rebel and killed Tian Hongzheng. To be honest, Tian Hongzheng was a bit suicidal. He misappropriated the town's public funds to give to his relatives to live and drink. If he had no restraint, he would be killed by the warriors.
Ghost.
After Wang Tingzuo, Wang Yuankui, Wang Shaoding, Wang Shaoyi, Wang Jingchong and Wang Rong paid great attention to bribery of warriors. The power was in the hands of the Wang family, and everyone spent the money together. The Wang family took more, and the rewards for the warriors were not too shabby, so they have been
Stay safe and sound.
The Wang family also pays great attention to weaving a network of relationships. The brave generals in the town will show more favors or directly marry into the ranks of senior generals and become members of the ruling class. Over time, the network of relationships will become more and more stable, and the entire Chengde Town will be like an iron barrel.
, almost became an independent kingdom.
If Weibo is a military republic, then Chengde is somewhat similar to a constitutional monarchy, that is, the Wang family is the "monarch" of Chengde Town, and the military generals are "members". Everyone governs together and shares wealth, so the whole is relatively stable.
Mutinies were rare.
But in Wang Rong's generation, the situation has changed.
Wang Jingchong died young. His two elder brothers, Wang Jingyin and Wang Jingru, were also short-lived and died one after another in recent years. The fourth brother, Wang Jing?, was also in poor health and could not help. Poor health meant that he could not be a martial artist, so there would be no chance.
, you cannot enter the core circle of power, even if you are a "relative of the emperor and the country."
Immediate relatives are not good, but what about collateral relatives? There are many, but none of them are outstanding, which is very embarrassing.
A large part of the foundation of Wang's rule collapsed.
Wang Rong was not aware of this problem at this time. He was still worried about the war: "Jian Koudu fought a bloody battle in Yunzhou. Unfortunately, they failed. Thousands of soldiers were captured. Can you tell me how to deal with this matter?"
"That bastard Wang Chuzhi is really a deceiver." Zhang Honggui said in a loud voice: "He actually escaped from the battle and defrauded our Zhenzhou soldiers. I really want to chop him alive."
According to Ma Xin, the Jian Koudu fought in formation with the Yiwu Army and the Jin Army, with high morale and bloody battles. The Xia people rushed into the formation several times, but all returned defeated. But at the critical moment, the Yiwu Army fled without fighting.
They were implicated, and eventually the entire army was defeated, with nearly half of the troops lost.
Liang Gongru listened without comment and said: "Your Majesty, the town is not at peace now. Maybe you can send someone to negotiate with the King of Jin and bring him back. If the sergeants make trouble and people's hearts are turbulent, it will be another troublesome matter."
"What if the King of Jin refuses to allow it and angers our town?" Wang Rong asked.
He was afraid of being beaten. After Li Keyong conquered the Xingming Ci Prefectures in Zhaoyi Town, he raised troops to attack the town of Hebei again and again, which made the whole town extremely annoyed. Finally, he spent money to buy peace.
Li Keyong really had a donkey temper. Wang Rong was not sure what his attitude was and did not dare to make decisions easily.
"Your Majesty, although the Jin army is strong, they may not be able to defeat the four states we control in Hebei Province." Liang Gongru said, "There is no harm in sending envoys to ask."
"That's fine." Wang Rong sighed and said: "Now that the vassal towns have been invaded, the towns in Hebei have lost their former glory. If you want to tell the story of Heshuo, you have to look at the faces of outsiders. But you still have to coax and support Li Keyong, gentlemen.
, the story of Heshuo is the foundation of our establishment and should not be taken lightly. If Jinzhen is here, even if we can't defeat the Xia people, Shao Shude will also use gentle methods towards us and will not swallow us in one bite. This creates a situation where we have both sides and a gap.
There is no chance of survival in this world. Remember, remember.”
The four words "Heshuo Story" are probably the main pursuits of the four Hebei feudal towns of Weibo, Chengde, Cangjing and Yiding. They are the consensus of the martial arts in the town. The same was true before Youzhou Town was destroyed.
They will not give up this core interest unless absolutely necessary. All their diplomacy and military actions are based on this core interest.
In short, using the east side of the river as a screen and traveling across the river to create a new story, everything is for profit.
****
Lu Yanwei actually got the news earlier than Wang Rong, because he led troops to Dezhou.
"Alas! The feudal vassals and towns are attacking each other, and the imperial court can no longer distinguish between them. They are devouring each other, and only their strength is seen. This world is going to end!" When he heard that Shao Shude led his army to Qizhou again to attack Ziqing, Lu Yanwei sighed.
Continuously.
Of course, he may have forgotten that he was also preparing to attack Dizhou, which was also an act of embezzlement by the feudal town.
People, such double standards.
"Commander, the Xia people are so powerful that a great alliance between the three towns in Hebei is inevitable..." the aide said.
Lu Yanwei sighed again and nodded.
My mood is actually a bit complicated.
Lao Lu considered himself not a careerist. When Huang Chao entered Chang'an in the past, he led his army into Guanzhong to quell the rebellion under the orders of Jiedushi, and returned after winning the victory.
He still has some unexplainable nostalgia for the imperial court.
Lu Yanwei thinks that the ideal situation is that the Tang Dynasty court is still there and the feudal towns are at peace with each other. The feudal towns will provide some goods from time to time, send troops to help the court when in trouble, and the court will mediate when there are conflicts between the feudal towns. If any feudal town has ambitions
It was too big and too powerful. The imperial court came forward and organized troops from each town to besiege and suppress it. For example, Ziqing Town was besieged by Li Shidao and was divided into three after the war.
This is the perfect state of balance between central and local power.
It's a pity that the balance has been broken. Although Huang Chao was defeated, the impact was so far-reaching that it has developed to this day and is beyond control.
"Will Li Keyong make peace with the Shao thief, stop his troops and return to Taiyuan?" Lu Yanwei asked the chief staff, and Gao Ji, a guest of the shogunate, asked.
Gao Jie was born in the Bohai Gao family. His martial arts skills were mediocre but his intelligence was good. Lu Yanwei appointed him as his subordinate and he was very trustworthy.
"Commander, given the temper of the King of Jin, I'm afraid he won't agree." Gao Jie said: "But now that the Shao thieves are powerful, the King of Jin will be unable to support him alone. He will definitely unite the towns in Hebei. He may be afraid that the cold will affect Chengde and Yiwu.
The heart of a warrior in the second town is undecided."
The towns in Hebei are very powerful.
Weibo has a population of more than three million and 80,000 warriors.
Chengde has less than 2 million people and more than 50,000 soldiers.
Cangjing has 1.5 million people and more than 40,000 people.
Yi Ding had a population of 700,000 and raised 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers.
Coupled with Li Keyong's hundreds of thousands of troops, they can barely compete with Shao Thief. If any of them loses, they will probably be defeated one by one.
If we can save the 70,000 or so Yamen troops in Yan and Qi towns, we can still fight this battle.
"In your opinion, how would King Jin make his decision?" Lu Yanwei asked.
"Generally speaking, most Jin kings will ignore it and continue to fight with the Xia people." Gao Jie said, "Unless something unexpected happens."
"What happened?" Lu Yanwei asked.
Gao Jie looked to the north and said, "One is in the northwest and the other is in the northeast."
I annoy you the most when you talk half-heartedly! Lu Yanwei glared at him, thought about it carefully, and finally figured it out.
In the northwest, it should be said that the Xia people would send troops from the Zhenwu Army to attack Yunzhou.
Northeast, probably refers to the Khitan people.
But now the grassland is empty, the grass has not grown yet, no one has the ability to use troops on a large scale, and the logistics supply is insufficient.
"Let's see if Wang Rong comes first." He sighed: "If you want to tell the story of Heshuo, you can't do it in a hurry. Let's camp in Dezhou first and wait and see. If the King of Jin comes to urge us, we should stop him first."