Chapter 564 The Consequences of Using Forces to Redeem Forces
After the family banquet, Wang Zheng convened the ministers again the next day and announced two appointments:
Zhang Zhao was transferred to Shouchun to serve as the governor of Yangzhou, and the vacant post of Pengcheng Prime Minister was succeeded by Mi Heng.
Of course, if it is said to be an appointment, it will definitely go through the process of sending an "envoy to Xudu to see the emperor to report", so it will basically not take effect until after the new year.
The reason why Zhang Zhao was transferred to Shouchun was that after the war, Jiangdong was in decline and there was an urgent need for capable officials to reorganize the place. Zhang Zhao had been in charge of Xuzhou for the past year and had outstanding political achievements, so he was the most suitable candidate.
As for the reason why the original Zuo Sima Mi Heng was changed to the Prime Minister, it was that Pengcheng was a gateway city with frequent wars and a weak literary style. Mi Heng's transfer would have a positive effect on the development of local academic style.
These two reasons were clearly stated. Although some among the ministers felt that these two appointments might have ulterior motives, not many people objected because they were not their own business.
After all, Zhang Zhao's governor is actually Wang Zheng's prime minister. As for Mi Heng, the annoying poisonous tongue, it is something that many people are happy to see happen.
Others were happy to hear it, but Lu Ji was not pleased. Instead, he thought to himself: "The minds of superiors are really unpredictable."
"This appointment seems to be like last night's banquet. It favors you and promotes you to a noble rank. But if you think about it carefully, it makes you leave the current political center. It is really unpredictable.
"
"Does Zhou Mu trust Ni Heng, or does he already have a feeling of dissatisfaction?"
He was standing in the court train, behind Mi Heng. He couldn't see the other party's expression at this moment, so he could only guess secretly. He was thinking wildly when he heard Mi Heng cough lightly, then stepped out of the queue and said, "I am a minister."
My knowledge is shallow and I have no virtue. Now I am appreciated by my lord and entrusted with a prominent position. I am honest and frightened about my lordship. I can only do my best to repay your kindness."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was surprised and could hardly believe their ears. Lu Ji and Gu Yong looked at each other for a long time. At the same time, they followed the sound and saw that it was indeed Mi Heng standing in the palace. They couldn't believe it.
.
Why is this scholar so humble today?
The others were surprised, but Wang Zheng looked calm. He just nodded and said warmly: "General, I always feel at ease when dealing with Zhengping."
After Mi Heng returned to his shift, he turned his attention to Zhang Zhao and said: "At the meeting the day before yesterday, I have decided that Zhang Gong, Guo Jijiu, and Lu Taishou will be responsible for this year's review of merits and other matters. Today, Zhang Gong
Now that Shouchun has arrived, I will officially entrust you with this important task. You need to hurry up, after all, the New Year will be coming in just two months, so try to award all the rewards that deserve it before the New Year."
"After the war, the people's hearts and morale are in urgent need of encouragement, so that everyone can be happy and have a good year."
Zhang Zhao had been notified of this by Wang Zheng before he came to Shouchun. At this time, he quickly stepped out of the queue and bowed: "Yes."
Wang Zheng nodded slightly, then looked at Wang Xiong and asked: "How far are General Zang's troops from Shouchun? Didn't you say you were estimating the itinerary the day before yesterday and should be here today? Why is there still no news at all?"
"I was about to report this to the general."
Wang Xiong said: "This morning, the last general received a military report. General Zang's headquarters stationed in Guangling set out immediately after receiving the arrival of the defending troops. However, they encountered an attack by bandits when they entered Jiujiang territory.
Although they were successfully repulsed, we had a foolproof strategy, so we spent a day repairing the place. Now we are less than a hundred miles away from Shouchun, and we will definitely be able to arrive at noon tomorrow."
Thief?
Wang Zheng raised his eyebrows slightly, nodded, and kept the matter in his mind, and immediately said: "Guangling can recover quickly, and General Zang deserves the most credit. However, Japan will have something to do tomorrow, and I'm afraid I won't be able to go out of the city to greet him in person. So, I'll give you the honor.
Xiaohe Yaoshi, how about you two go to greet me on my behalf?"
Zang Ba not only has outstanding personal abilities, but also has a certain degree of fame and influence in the East China Sea, Xiapi, Mount Tai and other places. He has made considerable contributions since joining the Tianjun, so naturally he cannot be neglected. Xu Fang and Guo Jia have since
There was no objection, they all nodded in agreement.
"So good."
He also discussed some matters with everyone, such as the plan for the New Year celebrations, the process of the wedding ceremony, etc., and discussed some complicated matters for a while. Seeing that it was already getting late outside the hall, at nearly noon, Wang Zheng picked up the tea cup and looked around at everyone.
Asked: "Is there anything else?"
At this time, Lu Ji came out and said, "I still have something to do, and I need to ask the state pastor to make a decision."
"What's the matter?"
"Zhenzhou Mu."
Lu Ji said: "Now that the civil war in the state has been declared over, the generals and their troops have gradually withdrawn from various battlefields, and many of them have come to Shouchun. Now inside and outside the city, plus the soldiers and horses brought by the state Mu, the original
The total number of soldiers and horses stationed there is close to 40,000, and Shouchun’s food reserves are not much. Adding these troops and horses, it will be okay in the short term, but if it goes on for a long time, it will be quite difficult to supply."
Lu Ji was talking about Shouchun, but in fact he was referring to the whole of Jiujiang.
Because if there is no food in Shouchun alone, it is not a problem. Yangzhou has developed water transportation, and Shouchun is in the center of the county and is in a position extending in all directions. If other counties have food, it can be directly allocated. Why is there any need to mention it?
Where is the mouth.
The problem now is that Jiujiang doesn’t have much surplus food!
The previous attack on Xuzhou had severely damaged Yangzhou's vitality. When it finally recovered a little, it encountered Sun Ce's rebellion. In addition, Runan County still needed support from Yangzhou for a long time, and reinforcements and food were squandered in the past two years.
When we came down, we were actually in a tight situation.
Of course, there are still three nails in the rotten ship. If it is like before, with only 20,000 permanent troops and horses in the city, it can barely support it. Now that the number has nearly doubled, Lu Ji is keenly aware that if this continues,
, Shouchun couldn’t bear it.
After hearing this, Wang Zheng fell into deep thought.
These 40,000 troops may sound like a lot, but in fact the total troops of the Heavenly Army's headquarters are only a little over 20,000. Most of the other half are prisoners and surrendered troops in many battles in Jiangdong. The previous Shouchun champions account for at least 10,000.
As for these soldiers, Wang Zheng had some ideas.
The Battle of Jiangdong was actually divided into two battles, one in Lujiang and the other in Jiujiang.
In the head-on confrontation with Sun Ce in Lujiang County, the Heavenly Army suffered considerable damage. The cities on the front line such as Shucheng, Hefei, Lu'an and other places experienced fierce battles many times, and it can be said that not even a tenth of the original garrison remained.
On the contrary, in the process of fighting for Jiujiang, it was actually a bloodless battle. Both the offensive and defensive sides suffered almost no big losses. After becoming the Lord of Shouchun, in order to win over local military forces such as Liang Gang, Li Ren, and Li Yu, Wang Zheng
After part of Yuan Shu's direct Southern Army was changed and handed over to Commander Gan Ning, most of the structures of the surrendered army remained unchanged.
But if you don't move now, it doesn't mean you won't move forever. There are more than 10,000 people who have not entered the system, and most of their generals have not entered the system. Under such circumstances, how can Wang Zheng tolerate it? Naturally, he will look for opportunities to adapt them all.
Fan.
First of all, in the eyes of Wang Zheng, who is accustomed to the route of elite soldiers, it is definitely impossible to completely keep this miscellaneous 20,000 troops. He is only prepared to keep those who are physically strong and brave, and cancel all others who are unable to fight.
, and this requires a certain amount of time and enough manpower to select and screen.
In such an adaptation process, it is actually necessary to have enough power to supervise and control. After all, in the last years of troubled times, it is not easy to recruit troops. In fact, disarmament also has risks, so it is necessary to retain enough troops to deter the troops.
In other words, according to Wang Zheng's plan, the 20,000 Yangzhou Army cannot move at present, but the 20,000 Xuzhou Army cannot leave either.
As a result, the "insufficient food surplus" mentioned by Lu Ji now stumped him.
After pondering for a long time, Wang Zhengwang asked Lu Ji: "According to your judgment, how long will the stock in the city be enough? Is it possible to raise funds nearby?"
"Reporting to Zhou Mu, when Yuan Shu went on an expedition to Runan, he not only took away the grain stored in the official warehouse, but also lost most of the grain stored in several counties near Shouchun,"
Lu Ji first dispelled Wang Zheng's delusion in the last sentence, and then said: "Now the food in the city must not only supply military supplies, but also comply with the orders of the state pastor, and also need to provide compensation to the people. Judging from the current consumption rate."
"It can last for a month at most."
One month?
Wang Zheng shook his head repeatedly, turned to Zhang Zhao and asked: "Mr. Zhang, maybe some people from Xuzhou can be mobilized?"
Hearing this, Zhang Zhao felt a toothache and hurriedly said: "My lord, our Xuzhou has been in constant war, and the people's livelihood has long been in decline. If my lord hadn't seen clearly last year, and designated Pengcheng State as a land for farming, I'm afraid even this year's Beihai Campaign would have been ruined."
Unable to support.”
"Nowadays, although the people in Guancang have a surplus of food, they are not rich by any means. They can at most provide for their local needs. I am afraid that there is nothing they can do to help Shouchun."
Wang Zheng just asked casually, but he actually knew that Xuzhou could not be counted on.
Yangzhou has been at peace for many years, but it has been overwhelmed by three wars in two years. You must know that Xuzhou has experienced more wars in recent years, and its foundation will only become weaker. It is not that much disappointing. After a moment of silence, his eyes fell again
When it came to Lu Ji: "What is Gongji's opinion?"
"The war has just ended, and people are returning home. Seeing the end of the year, the soldiers must also be thinking about the New Year, and there is not enough food in the city."
After hesitating for a while, Lu Ji said: "According to my wishes, if the state pastor has no other arrangements, it is better to send Xuzhou's generals back first."
He glanced at Wang Zheng's expression secretly and said, "Of course, the original garrison losses in various places in the territory are not small now, and there cannot be no strong local troops to take over the defense. If the state pastor is worried about this, there is no need to send back all the reinforcements.
.Leave a small part of it, and if the city is tighter, we can probably hold on until the beginning of spring."
Gu Yong and other old Shouchun ministers came out to echo: "What Governor Lu said is true, and I agree with it."
If they all go back, won't I lose my sense of security?
As long as he is not part of the system, no matter how loyal he is, Wang Zheng will not completely let down his guard. He immediately shook his head slightly and asked: "Even if some of them are sent away, the city's food reserves can only last until the beginning of spring. What happens after that?" Joking?
, he is also preparing to conquer Danyang and Wujun after spring.
As he said that, he turned to Guo Jia with expectant eyes: "Fengxiao, do you have any good advice to teach me?"
Guo Jia coughed dryly. There was no good way to deal with the problem of lack of food. He could only think of ways to get food: "I only have two ways to deal with this. Either go to the north to borrow food, or buy food from the south."
"Borrowing food from the north?" Wang Zheng raised his eyebrows: "Are you talking about Cao Cao or Yuan Shao?"
"Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan have reached the decisive moment this year. They are using their troops very diligently. I am afraid that most of their family wealth has been used up. The treasury is empty and it is difficult to survive. Naturally, there is no hope."
Guo Jiadao said: "Cao Cao is not like that. He has been recuperating and recuperating since he joined Lu Bu to hunt for Yanzhou. He has cultivated fields vigorously. He has cultivated three times so far. I think he has a lot of grain reserves."
"No matter how much food he has left, it will be in vain if he is unwilling to borrow it."
Considering the grievances between Wang Zheng and Cao Cao, even if they have joined forces several times, it is obviously unrealistic to expect the other party to lend a helping hand at critical moments. Wang Zheng is more worried about whether he can borrow food from him, and the second is that he will be exposed.
He immediately rejected the current flaw and said, "It's not advisable to borrow grain from the north. Are you talking about Jingzhou when buying grain from the south?"
"Yes, the six counties of Jingxiang and Xiang are rich in grains. Since Liu Jingsheng became the prefect of the state, there has been peace for a long time, and there is no shortage of food."
Guo Jia said with a smile: "This man just used the lord's tiger power to conquer the three counties of Runan. He even sent an envoy to my Shouchun a while ago to express his willingness to continue to have good relations with the lord. Now I am short of food in Shouchun. Please
If they do a favor, it should probably be fine, right?"
Wang Zheng touched his chin and quite agreed with Guo Jia's point of view.
First of all, Jingzhou is definitely not short of food. Although it is the Han Dynasty when the south has not yet been fully opened up, Jingzhou in the future will have the aura of the so-called "Huguang is ripe and the world is rich".
Even if Jingzhou has not reached the status of a major grain province now, it probably won't be much worse.
So, is Liu Biao willing to sell him grain?
It's not a big problem either.
Wang Zheng has already seen from the two incidents of Sun Ce and Liang Gang that this Han clan clan member and the Eight Horsemen in the World are actually a bit bully and afraid of the strong. But now Wang Zheng is in the limelight after losing consecutively to powerful enemies.
Having reached the peak of his personal reputation, would he dare to risk offending Wang Zheng by refusing to go to Yangzhou to buy grain?
It's probably unlikely.
Now it is Wang Zheng who is hesitant.
Because if Liu Biao really helped with this, it would be considered a "help in times of need".
So how can he lose face and attack Jingzhou in the future?
Forget it, I can't worry about the future for the time being. Wang Zheng shook his head and thought: "Let's get through the current difficulties first."
He immediately made a decision and said: "This is a good plan to honor Liu Gong. Didn't Jingzhou send envoys twice before? Courtesy is reciprocated, and we haven't returned the gift yet. We just sent an envoy to Jingzhou with gifts to greet Liu Gong on behalf of the general, and by the way, we sent our
Ask for a mention?”
"My lord is right."
Guo Jia smiled and said: "Liu Jingzhou is a humble gentleman. He and his lord have been friends for many years and are each other's allies. I just thought that it was inappropriate to buy grain. Doesn't this mean that he is regarded as a first-rate merchant?"
"How about just borrowing food from them? If it's still insufficient, how about buying it locally to supplement it?"