Jiangning to the south of the Yangtze River was rebuilt in the hands of Yang Xingmi and later warlords of this series, as was Yangzhou to the north of the Yangtze River.
This prosperous and prosperous place in the world during the Tang Dynasty was also rebuilt, and the rebuilder was Yang Xingmi.
In troubled times like the late Tang Dynasty, big cities like Yangzhou would inevitably be involved in the whirlpool.
Gao Pian, who dreamed of immortality before he became emperor, and Bi Shiduo, who secretly killed Yang Xing and was in a bloody state, both dealt fatal blows to Yangzhou.
When the man-eating demon king's general Sun Ru led hundreds of thousands of people and arrived overwhelmingly, the end of Yangzhou came.
Sun Ru's army killed 200,000 people in Yangzhou for military food, and set a fire when they left. After that, this big city with a population of nearly 800,000 disappeared.
Even the indigenous people of Yangzhou have completely disappeared. The current Yangzhou people all moved here after Yang Xingmi established his rule.
But now Yangzhou will never be able to return to its former glory.
The reason why Yangzhou was prosperous during the Sui and Tang Dynasties was because it was located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River. Grains and cloth from the southeast were transported to Guanzhong and Heluo areas through Yangzhou.
After the separation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the products from Jiangnan no longer needed to be sent to Guanzhong and the Central Plains.
Hangou also changed from the main artery that connected the whole country to the channel that only connected Huainan and the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Yangzhou has lost its location advantage, and even the urban area has been reduced to a strip of land beside the Guan River.
Guanhe is the Wenhe River in Yangzhou in later generations. It is actually the name of this section of the canal that passes through Yangzhou City.
Originally, Yangzhou City was located on both sides of the Guan River, but now Yangzhou City only exists on the east bank of the river.
However, it is not without its advantages, that is, Yangzhou's city defense is much better than before.
Because the Guanhe River changed from passing through the city to a moat, the defensive area was smaller than before. Therefore, at this time, Yangzhou not only recovered its commerce, but also had the shadow of a fortress city.
Just as Luo, the divine capital of the Tang Dynasty, held an important position, Jiangdufu (Yangzhou), the eastern capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty, also held an extremely important position.
This can be seen from the candidates for the official positions of Jiangdu Liushou and Dongdu Yin. The current Jiangdu Liushou and Jiangdu Yin in the Southern Tang Dynasty are Li Hongji.
And Li Hongji is Li Jing's eldest son, who is only eleven or twelve years old now.
The reason why his young son is given the official position of Jiangdu Liubei and Jiangdu Yin is easy to cultivate personal power.
That's because the inheritance model of the Southern Tang Dynasty was not passed down from father to son, but from brother to brother.
This was all forced by the chaotic situation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Li Jing's father, Li Ming, the great ancestor of the Southern Tang Dynasty, witnessed with his own eyes the families of Yang Xingmi and his adoptive father, Xu Wen, because the heir was too young and could not subdue the arrogant veteran officials.
And after the artifact changed hands.
Before he died, he established a rule for the Southern Tang Dynasty that brothers should treat brothers as brothers.
He also asked Li Jing and several younger brothers to swear an oath in front of the coffin, so the current successor to the throne recognized by the Southern Tang Dynasty is Li Jing's second brother, the King of Qi in the Southern Tang Dynasty, the marshal of all the soldiers and horses, and the Secretary of the Central Committee Li Jingsui.
But now, Li Jing, who feels that he is in his prime, certainly does not think that he will die young before his son Li Hongji grows up. Of course, he also wants to pass the throne to his son, not his younger brother.
Therefore, Jiangdu Liushou and Jiangdu Yin, who could cultivate private power, were given to Li Hongji to compete with the real heir Li Jingsui, and to find a suitable opportunity in the future to overturn the arrangement of brother-in-law succession.
However, Li Hongji was still a child, so naturally he could not go to Jiangdu to take up his post, so the current deputy left-behind officer in Jiangdu was the veteran minister Zhou Zong.
Zhou Zong himself is not very famous, but he has two famous daughters, both the eldest and the eldest queen of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
Li Cunhui was dressed in black and his face was covered with dust. As the pioneer work he had snatched from Murong Nobunaga for the first time, Li Cunhui attached great importance to it.
This time, Zhang Zhao appointed Bai Congxin, an experienced and prudent commander, as the commander-in-chief of the 5,000-strong rear army. Murong Nobunaga deployed the front-line army and commanded 10,000 troops.
Among the ten thousand people in the front army, Li Cunhui was the vanguard officer, Yao Yuanfu and Gao Huaide were the deputies, commanding three thousand cavalry to advance first.
However, after walking for only half a day, Li Cunhui realized that he couldn't continue like this.
There were few horses in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and in order to ensure speed, the Zhou army had a configuration of one man and three horses. In this way, there were nearly ten thousand tall horses at once, which was too conspicuous, and the speed of one man and three horses was not as fast as one man and two horses.
So Li Cunhui left Yao Yuanfu behind and commanded two thousand cavalry. He and Gao Huaide selected a thousand cavalry, wearing little armor, each with two horses, and galloped day and night.
The effect was remarkable. It took Li Cunhui and Gao Huaide just over four days to complete the 390 miles from Chuzhou to Yangzhou, and they stopped when they arrived less than ten miles away from Yangzhou.
It was early in the morning, around three o'clock in the afternoon, and Gao Huaide was gnawing on dry biscuits and drinking the cold boiled water in his bag.
This is the rule of the Zhou army. No one is allowed to drink raw water unless it is absolutely necessary.
"My Lord, it's getting late today, and there are many people outside Yangzhou City. Going in at this time may cause chaos.
Why don't we retreat twenty miles to rest for the night, and when the gate of Yangzhou opens tomorrow, we can rush in directly."
Gao Huaide looked at Li Cunhui and suggested with some anxiety.
Although he and Li Cunhui were only four or five years apart, Li Cunhui was the emperor's adopted son, and his aunt was the emperor's childhood sweetheart. He was also a famous general in Hexi, and he had the hereditary title of Duke of Shouchang.
Therefore, Gao Huaide, a rebel general, was still a little cautious in front of Li Cunhui.
Li Cunhui quickly washed off the dust on his body and patted Gao Huaide's shoulder affectionately.
"Now that we have marched, there is no reason to retreat. Look at the two sides of Hangou. They are mostly bustling places. We have already attracted people's attention. If we retreat twenty miles and stay one more night, we might be in danger.
Expose whereabouts.
Moreover, in the early morning, people are most alert, but at sunset, everyone wants to go home and feels lazy."
Gao Huaide nodded in agreement, not because he thought Li Cunhui's analysis was reasonable, but because there was no foolproof plan for such a risk.
Going now and going tomorrow have their own advantages and disadvantages.
"Then let's set off now. I will lead 300 cavalry to go first, and the Duke will lead 700 cavalry as backup. When someone rushes directly into the city and sends a signal, the Duke will lead the army to kill."
Having already reached this stage, how could Li Cunhui go without worrying about Gao Huaide.
This is an important task assigned by the adoptive father, and he must not make any mistakes, so Li Cunhui shook his head and said to Gao Huaide.
"Three hundred cavalry are still too many. Let the soldiers take off their hundred and fifty pieces of cotton armor. A certain man will lead the vanguard of one hundred and fifty cavalry, wearing two layers of armor, and rush directly to the gate. When you see the signal, you can lead the army straight to Jiangdu.
Stay at the office."
After finishing speaking, Li Cunhui said to a soldier next to him who still had a bit of a knight-errant air.
"Song Yu'er, you and the three of you have brought the beacon and fire sticks with you. When you see us succeeding in grabbing the door, go to the hill and set off the beacon to instruct everyone to deploy the army.
Zhang Huozi, the three of you write down again the route from the north gate of Jiangdu to the left-behind government office in Jiangdu.
You must not make any mistakes. If you do your job well, you won’t have to worry about your land, house, wives or concubines in the future.”
Song Yu'er is a Huainan hero (water thief) recommended by Zhang Xiong, the commander-in-chief of Huai'an Town. He is familiar with the situation around Hangou and is shrewd and reliable.
Zhang Huozi and others were members of the clan of Zhang Yanqing, the governor of Chuzhou. They bought in-demand goods in Jiangdu all year round and sold them in Chuzhou, so they were very familiar with the situation in Jiangdu.
After the plan was completed, the elite cavalry of the Zhou army, which numbered about 1,100 including officers, finished eating their dry food and began to organize their equipment.
The selected 150 riders began to strap on two layers of armor on their horses. The ten-mile journey from here to Yangzhou was not easy for them.
Because they can ride horses for up to five miles, and in order to save the energy of the other war horse, they have to walk to a place six or seven hundred steps away from Yangzhou City before they can put on their armor.
Most of the cavalrymen brought by Li Cunhui were his old brothers from the Lin Guards on the right, and of course there were also some old men from the Lin Guards on the left and Hanhai Town.
Even though Gao Huaide led dozens of Hebei cavalry, they were still the best among the best.
Therefore, even though they had traveled more than seventy miles today and now had to go out to fight, their moods were still very stable, there were no complaints of dissatisfaction or tiredness, and they were even a little eager to try.
.
.
At the north gate of Yangzhou, there is harmony and tranquility, the Guanhe River is sparkling, and horses, mules, donkeys, and other large animals line up in long queues, waiting to enter or leave the city.
The Southern Tang Dynasty only lacked war horses, but there was not much shortage of pack horses and draft horses. On the contrary, because it was richer than the Central Plains, there were even more than the Central Plains.
Guarding the north gate of Yangzhou is a capital of Long Jiejun.
After standing on the city gate for a while with their heads held high and their bellies bulging, they ran off to live happily.
The remaining two generals each led ten men and took turns handling official business in the city gate cave.
Although it was heard that the newly established northern capital had fallen, and it seemed that the imperial troops deployed had suffered a major defeat, the atmosphere in Yangzhou was still not very tense.
There has been peace here for forty or fifty years, as if it were not a chaotic time when various countries were fighting.
Perhaps they would only become nervous when news of the fall of Chuzhou came.
But wouldn't Chuzhou have not fallen yet? As long as this Huainan gateway is there, Jiangdu Prefecture will be safe.
‘Definitely!’ I heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. I stood up on my tiptoes and took a look. I suddenly burst out laughing.
There are at least dozens or hundreds of horses, and they are still big horses. How much tax must be paid to let him in?
What? You mean five hundred dollars? That's not even worth opening my mouth to give up.
Such a tall horse came in such a hurry. He must be in a hurry to enter the city now and sell it at a good price tomorrow morning.
Even if you don't put two thousand dollars in your pocket, it won't be better than letting him enter the city gate.
As for saying that someone with such a high profile must be from a powerful family, that’s for sure!
If he wasn't from a powerful family, he would have to pay a bribe of 20,000 yuan.
What about the powerful families? The powerful families also have to show their respect to the heroes of Long Jiejun.
Of course, after thinking about it for a while, are there any problems?
However, his big and smart head quickly went through the scene in front of him and immediately threw this problem to the back of his mind.
With just over a hundred horses and hundreds of men coming, how dare they come to Dongdu Mansion to seize the city gate?
Do you really think that Long Jiejun’s three thousand athletes are vegetarians?