Chapter 21: The Eunuch’s Plan, Overseeing the Army’s Yellow Gate
"I'm here to tell you big news, but you can't bear to let me sit on a chair?" Zhang Rang deliberately sat down on the chair twice with force.
As soon as he heard the "big news", Zhao Zhong didn't care about the chair. He gently put the jade in his hand back on the display shelf. He walked to the door and looked around. When he saw that no one had closed the door, he asked: "What's the news?"
?Didn’t I tell you not to publicize this information casually?"
Zhao Zhong was a little angry. They were all seeking a big thing, but Zhang Rang was so arrogant. Everyone was in the same boat. If something happened to Zhang Rang, he wouldn't be much better!
"You thought wrong! It's not news about that matter!" Zhang Rang also explained to Zhao Zhong in a serious tone.
After hearing this, Zhao Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in his seat, "Tell me what happened."
Zhang Rang recounted the scene that happened in the West Garden exactly, and Zhao Zhong's eyes lit up after hearing this.
"Okay! We didn't have a chance when the court ordered generals last time. It's not too late to liquidate them now!" Zhao Zhong had a wicked smile on his face.
"That's what you meant! His Majesty sent me to announce your entry into the palace. It's just right for you and I to agree on this trip first, and we can only do it after entering the palace later! If this happens, you and I may have a chance to do something important!" Zhang Rang also smiled slyly.
As they stood, the two looked like they were in an awkward position.
Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang both glanced at the cauldron in Zhao Zhong's house.
The two of them discussed countermeasures in Zhao Zhong's residence, and not long after, they went from Zhao's residence to Nangong to meet the Holy Spirit.
"Your Majesty, Sir Zhang Chang and Zhao Chang would like to see you." A small yellow doorman came in and reported to Liu Hong.
Hearing the voice of Xiaohuangmen, Liu Hong woke up from a dream. After he returned to Nangong, he became more and more frightened. He recalled that he had really made a mistake in his busy schedule. In this way, the three-way army did not set up a confidant to monitor the army. He sat in a daze thinking about it.
.
"Hurry up!"
Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang entered with their bodies down and their heads lowered. They didn't have the arrogant aura they had in Zhao Zhong's mansion at all, and were just like the little yellow gate on the side.
"See Your Majesty!" The two saluted.
"No need to salute, big things are important." Liu Hong waved his hand. He only had big things in mind right now, so he could save as much red tape as possible.
The two stood up and walked closer.
"Chao Changshi, Zhang Changshi has already told you, right?" Liu Hong asked.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Changshi told me on the way that Lu Zhi and Lu Shangshu in the north are advancing vigorously without any defeat. I think the morale is strong, so we must be on guard! Yingchuan left Zhonglang will be Huangfusong, and right Zhonglang will be Zhu Junchang Sheda
To win, everyone must be united and guard against it!" Zhao Zhong stood up and analyzed for a while.
"Of course I know!" Liu Hong's voice was a little louder. It was obvious that he knew that this was not what he wanted to hear. "Does Chang Shi Zhao have a solution?"
"I thought that we should appoint a supervisory army today to monitor the three armies and come back to report to the emperor!" Zhao Zhong replied.
Liu Hong was so angry that everyone stood up when he answered: "You!"
Do you need Zhao Zhong to send the supervisory army? Of course, Zhao Zhong is not stupid. After discussing with Zhang Rang, the two decided to engage Liu Hong in a subtle way, so as not to let Liu Hong think that the two had premeditated and manipulated secretly.
"Your Majesty, calm down!" Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong knelt on the ground and shouted in unison!
"Hmph!" Liu Hong snorted coldly and sat down again, "Of course I know who was sent to supervise the army, but I have no idea who to choose as supervising army."
Zhao Zhong and Zhang Rang stood like wooden figures at this moment, saying nothing.
Liu Hong paused, waiting for the two of them to speak. After waiting for a long time, he could only talk to himself: "How about sending Yang Ci?"
"Master Yang is indeed a good candidate!" Zhang Rang agreed from the side.
Zhao Zhong looked troubled. When Liu Hong saw it, he couldn't help but asked: "Does Changshi Zhao think it's inappropriate?"
"I dare not talk nonsense." Zhao Zhong choked out a sentence and stopped talking.
"Tell me, I will decide whether it makes sense or not." Liu Hong waved his hand, allowing Zhao Zhong to speak freely.
"Master Yang has also wanted to protect Zhu Jun, the right middle-ranking general, and Lu Zhi, the northern middle-ranking general, is also his candidate to lead the army..." Zhao Zhong stopped here and gave the man in front of him Your Majesty has left enough room for imagination.
Liu Hong's face became visibly ugly, and he continued: "That's not right! You two are trying to find a suitable supervisor for me!"
Zhang Rang continued: "Your Majesty should find someone who you can control and who is completely loyal to you as your supervisor!"
Liu Hong thought about it after listening to Zhang Rang's answer. If he is completely loyal to himself and can control it, wouldn't he be the eunuch in the palace? The ten permanent servants are obviously not suitable. A few of them are too arrogant and domineering. He can choose a few Huang. Door.
"Hahaha! The two regular servants are indeed my humerus ministers! They solved the problem for me!" Liu Hong was in a good mood after thinking about it, and he did not realize that he had been plotted by the two people opposite him.
"It's a reward! Each person will be rewarded with a good horse!" Liu Hong was so happy that the reward was indispensable.
Xiao Huangmen on the side walked quickly to Liu Hong's side and whispered: "Your Majesty, all the horses in Xiyuan have been assigned to the army."
Liu Hong was so excited that he forgot about this, and changed his words with a bit of embarrassment on his face: "I thought about it, now is the war period, it is not appropriate to reward horses with a pair of jade bis."
Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong actually don't care about rewards. From some perspectives, their life is no worse than that of the emperor. Their residence is taller and even more lavish than the imperial palace. They take whatever tribute comes from various places, and the fine products have long been sold to them. They got it.
They thought so in their hearts, but couldn't show it on their faces. The two of them showed excitement: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The two received the reward and left the palace, returning to Zhao Zhong's mansion again.
As soon as Zhang Rang entered Zhao Zhong's treasure house, he placed the jade on the table and never looked at it again. He also said: "This jade is much worse than the one you have here. This pair of mine is also worse." It’s a gift to you.”
"I don't care about it either." Zhao Zhong looked indifferent and put the jade aside casually.
"Hurry up and notify Xiaohuangmen below. The order from the supervisory army will come down tonight at the latest and will set off tomorrow. Don't know what will happen then." Zhang Rang said: "I have to go back to the house to prepare."
Zhao Zhong replied softly, without getting up, and watched Zhang Rang leave.
That night, the appointment of the supervisory army came down. Zuo Feng and Huang Sheng of Xiaohuangmen were selected, and they set off for the battlefield with Yin Shou early the next morning.
Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong had notified all the Xiaohuangmen that they might serve as supervisors after leaving the palace. They also explained what to do when they became supervisors.
Liu Jing and Sun Wentai of Yangzhai had ordered their troops and horses to set off. Each led five thousand infantry and set off towards Xingshan. Most of them were Zhu Jun's soldiers. Sun Jian had a thousand troops and horses led by himself, and a small group. Some of them were soldiers from the Huangfu Song tribe.
When he set out from Luoyang, Liu Hong assigned all the Central Army's Sanhe Cavalry and the Northern Army's five schools to three commanders.
The Northern Army belongs to the elite troops of the imperial court. Unlike the Habayashi Army, the Habayashi Army has gradually evolved into a means for officials and aristocratic families to place their children and disciples, and Habayashi Lang can be obtained through fundraising.
The prestige of the Yulin Army has long gone, and now it is more like a pure guard of honor.
The Northern Army was set up as a combat force. From its structure, it can be seen that the Northern Army belonged to the Central Guards, which existed in the Western Han Dynasty. It got its name because it lived in the north of Chang'an City.
Later, the North and the South joined forces to strengthen the strength of the Central Army and expanded it to eight schools. After the merger of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it became five schools.
There were mainly five battalions: Tun cavalry, Yue cavalry, infantry, Changshui, and Shesheng. Later, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, served as the middle marquis of the Northern Army under the guidance of He Jin.
The Tun cavalry is mainly composed of Han cavalry; the Yue cavalry is mainly composed of Shanyue cavalry who submitted to the Han Dynasty; the infantry battalion is mainly composed of infantry from the northwest, also called Caiguan; Changshui camp once merged with the Hu cavalry camp, which was mainly composed of Shanyue cavalry who submitted to the Han Dynasty
The Hu cavalry of the North Korea; the Shesheng battalion was composed of bow and foot soldiers.
The Shanyue people are a barbarian tribe in the south. The south is mostly covered with mountains and forests. The Shanyue people have lived in this environment since childhood and are especially good at fighting in mountainous terrain. This time, Huangfu Song also sent soldiers from his Yueqi battalion to Zhu Jun.
When fighting in the mountains and forests, horses cannot be used. The soldiers of the Yueqi camp all abandon their horses and join the battle. Even so, they have more advantages than ordinary soldiers!
The soldiers of the Yueqi battalion were unified under the leadership of Sun Jian. Yesterday, when Zhu Jun laid out his strategy, he decided to attack the north as the main front. Sun Jian was also the main attack vanguard. Liu Jing's job was mainly to control the south to prevent the enemy from escaping.
The water source is in the north of Xingshan Mountain. Although there is Yingshui River in the southwest, the distance is too far. The possibility of the enemy breaking through from the south is not as great as from the north.
The rest of the army is still stationed around Yangzhai and has not taken action. The cost of the army's expedition is very terrifying. With just 10,000 people dispatched, there must be at least 30,000 civilians in Yangzhai to provide logistics for the army.
This time, we were besieging the mountain instead of robbing it. In other words, we were using the powerful logistics of the Han army to bring down the bandits on the mountain, and the huge consumption of materials was used to reduce the number of casualties.
When Bocai gathered his remaining troops, he was actually at the end of his strength. Even if he attacked up the mountain, victory would not be difficult.
The current method of encircling the mountain actually consumes Yangzhai's strength. The army marches all the way from Luoyang, so Luoyang cannot be responsible for all the food and logistics on the road.
Nor can the army transport food by itself. If 40,000 people are prepared to carry out food supplies and set out at the beginning, at least 120,000 civilians will be required to assist them along the way, and 120,000 civilians will add 120,000 mouths that need food rations.
If this continues, the army will become bloated and march slowly.
The soldiers could only carry the food, and the army pulled out the baggage troops to carry part of the food baggage, and ate the wages of the cities in various places along the way.
For example, Yang Zhai is now responsible for most of the army's logistical supplies.
Each of Liu Jing and Sun Jian's ten thousand infantrymen could only carry enough food for five days at most. Any more would affect the marching speed, and the soldiers were tired of food. How could they still have the strength to fight when they encountered enemy troops on the road?
All supplies after five days can only be provided by the people of Yangzhai, carrying food on their backs, and so on, and the people have to consume a lot of food on the way to carry the food. The final test of the war is the national strength of the country, not the military courage.