Chapter 671 The old guys who bully others too much
In the third year of Zhang Zhou's Shaoming reign (AD 948), on the third day of March, Zhang Yan built a general worship platform in Chang'an Mansion, Jingzhao, and worshiped Cai Guogong Yin Zhengqi as the general manager of the camp for the expedition to Shu.
Mobilize the four pro-army troops of 12,000 men: Lin Wei on the right, Jinwu Guard on the left, Longxiang Guard on the left, and Shenwei Guard on the right.
The Forbidden Army has 15,000 people in the five towns of Xiongwu, Changguo, Xingqing, Yong'an, and Zhaoyi.
At the same time, Anzuo, the commander of the guard army, was dispatched, along with 2,500 men from the two central guards and 3,000 men from the Tianshui guards.
In addition, 5,000 athletes from all over Guanzhong were recruited to inspect Ya Ding and perform martial arts examinations including Tou, Qi Ji, Bow and Arrow, and Spear and Stick.
A total of 37,500 people were recruited, and more than 30,000 civilians in Guanzhong were recruited. They were known as an army of 150,000. It was clear that the chariots and horses were about to start conquering Shu.
However, although the momentum was created, Zhang Gao did not let the army start taking action immediately.
It was not until the third day, that is, the sixth day of March, that Lu Yan, a member of Zhongshushe, recruited 5,000 cattle from Hubei Province, Shandong Province and Zhili Province to Guanzhong. Only then did Zhang Gao order the army to train together for half a month, and then began to cut down.
Shu.
March is the critical season for spring plowing. Without these cattle to fill the labor gap of 30,000 to 40,000 people called into service in Guanzhong, the grain harvest in Guanzhong will definitely fail this year.
Therefore, Zhang Zhi immediately sent Lu Yan, a member of Zhongshushe, as the inspector of Guanzhong Province, as a doctor in the Guanzhong Division of the Ministry of Husbandry, and was given the title of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Husbandry, making him fully responsible for the arrangement of cattle farming.
If you have a good policy, you still need capable people to implement it. Otherwise, it is estimated that only a small part of these cattle will reach the people who need it most.
And this is not about giving the cattle to the people, but letting them rent them, but the price is very low.
There is a problem here. Most people will not take such care of these public things when they use them.
Although farm cattle are strong, they are actually somewhat delicate and require careful care before they can do heavy work in the fields.
Without supervision, those lawless guys below may dare to tire the cattle to death and then eat the meat.
As for concealing cattle and then reporting them as lost, or forming a gang of thieves to steal, kill other people's rented cattle, etc., there are definitely people who can do it, and the number of people is not too small.
Zhang Hao thought for a while and left a camp in Hanhai Town to Lu Yan.
As a symbol of Zhang Zhou's military force, the former soldiers of Hanhai Town basically became pro-army soldiers, but the name Hanhai Town was still preserved and was known as the head of the Forbidden Army.
Yan Jin followed Zhang Yan's request and sent two of the four battalions of Hanhai Town guarding Taiyuan to Guanzhong. Zhang Yan originally planned to have Hanhai Town escort him to Hexi.
Because out of the three thousand people in Zhang Shan's Hanshan capital, at least two thousand people must participate in the battle to conquer Shu.
Now Zhang Yan considered that Lu Yan had just arrived and might not be able to convince the local tycoons in Guanzhong who regarded themselves as Conglong heroes, so he simply left a camp in Hanhai Town to Lu Yan.
Lu Yan was 100% loyal to Zhang Yan. When he came to Zhang Yan as a remnant from Hedong, Zhang Yan not only did not despise his background, but entrusted him with important responsibilities.
So he risked his life. As soon as Hanhai Town was obtained, Lu Yan immediately used the few humble officials of Jingzhao Chang'an Prefecture as a model.
To say that these guys are really brave, they are not just talkative.
It took only 5,000 farm cattle to arrive. Because they were afraid of being acclimatized to the soil, they had to be intensively raised for a period of time and had to be consulted by veterinarians.
So these petty officials colluded to buy sick cattle from various places at low prices, and then exchanged them with the healthy cattle that were shipped, and the civet cats were exchanged for the princes to make a lot of money.
I, Zhang Shengren, was so angry that his mouth was filled with smoke. Before he could leave, someone was beating the attention of these cattle farmers. According to Zhang's temper, he immediately wanted to chop them into pieces.
It's a pity that according to the criminal laws of the Zhou Dynasty, their corruption is not enough to be decapitated.
Just when Zhang Yan was at his wits end, Lu Yan appeared and immediately found the legal provisions to execute these petty officials.
It turns out that although embezzling this little money is not a capital offense, stealing cattle is.
Stealing farm cattle was a capital crime in all dynasties. Even in the late Qing Dynasty, there were cases of cattle thieves being shackled to death in front of the county government office, not to mention that a sick cow brought by these people had already died of illness.
Lu Yan quickly used the excuse of stealing farm cattle and causing their death, and directly issued a letter to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple in the name of the provincial inspector, recommending that he be sentenced to death.
With Zhang Zhi in Guanzhong, the Criminal Department of the Tokyo Imperial Court and the Dali Temple immediately responded and agreed to sentence him directly without waiting for the Autumn Queen.
Among the few petty officials who committed the crime, some were from the Song family in Shazhou and had some connections with Zhang Hao.
Lu Yan sentenced them to death without hesitation, and finally severely shocked other people with evil intentions, revealing his true nature that he was not easy to mess with.
Zhang Yan was greatly reassured because he finally no longer had to worry about spring plowing in Guanzhong.
....
On March 21st, the Zhou army took the oath of surrender in Chang'an.
The news that spread out is that Zhang Zhou mobilized the right Yu Lin Guard, Zuo Jinwu Guard, Zuo Longxiang Guard, and Right Shenwei Guard, the Forbidden Army from the four towns except Xiongwu Town, as well as most of the guard troops and levies, in total.
The 120,000-strong army was going south via the Baoxie Road.
In terms of generals, General Yin Zhengqi set up his tent at the entrance of Xiegu in Yi County. He ordered General Lin Wei Zhonglang of You Yu and Li Cunhui, Duke of Su State, to be the vanguard officers and led 3,000 people to enter Baoxie Road first.
Taking Changguo Town's chief soldier, Yumenhou Luo Yu'er as the marching Sima and general of the Chinese army, he advanced slowly with 10,000 people as the main force.
The rest, He Fujin, Zhao Hui and Zhe Deyi, each led their troops and horses to accompany them.
At the same time, Li Rong, the commander-in-chief of Zhaoyi Town, was ordered to lead an army of 10,000 troops, marching south along the Tangluo Road, in a manner to attack Xingyuan Mansion, the Jiedu envoy on the south west road of Shannan in Shu Kingdom.
Of course, it was indeed necessary to storm Xingyuan Mansion, that is, Hanzhong, but secretly, Zhang Gao made other arrangements for Tianshui Mansion.
Tomorrow, the commander-in-chief of Xiongwu Town along the Tianshui Prefecture route, Zhebu Jiashi, the governor of Tianshui Prefecture and the supervisor of Tianshui soldiers and horses, will be in charge. A total of 7,000 guards from Xiongwu Town and Tianshui Guards will be mobilized. It is said that the army of 20,000 will be marched.
Qishan Road goes south along the West Han River.
But in fact, Zhang Gao secretly ordered Gao Xingzhou to take charge of the matter, and selected elites from Hanshandu, Youlong Xiangwei, and Hanhai Town, including Han Huzi and Gongsun Nian's Guanzhong heroes.
In terms of generals, almost all of Zhang Zhou's new generation of generals were present.
There are dozens of heroes including Wu Xingde, Wang Quanbin, Wang Shenqi, Shi Kuangwei, Yao Kechu, Pan Mei, Shi Yanchao, Han Tong, Huangfuchong, Cao Bin and so on.
The people, led by Gao Huaide, who was invincible with bows and horses, led 4,000 selected elite soldiers and generals. As soon as the Battle of Hanzhong started, they were ready to give the Shu army a hard blow from the Qishan Road.
In Shuzhong, Chengdu Prefecture, Meng Chang didn't even hold a court meeting this time. He only felt that his cheeks were hot and his beating heart seemed to pop out of his mouth.
This is the reason why he did not convene a large court meeting but chose to summon only important ministers and close ministers, because he was afraid that outsiders would see his timid appearance and make interested people have thoughts that they should not have.
Three years ago, he was deceived by Zhang Gao. In anger, he sent a large army to attack Guanzhong, and once occupied Fengxiang Mansion and other places.
At that time, Meng Chang's heartbeat was not so fast, because at that time, he didn't quite understand the meaning of the word "war and danger".
It was not until Zhang Qianzhao returned from defeat, An Siqian died in battle, Gao Yancheng was captured, and only Sun Hanshao led more than 10,000 people in the three-way army of more than 50,000 people to successfully escape, and the Zhou army was ready to go straight into the middle of Shu, that Meng Chang
Know.
War is not as heroic and romantic as he thought, it is a serious matter that can kill you at any time.
So at this time, Zhang Qianzhao was commanding the Zhaowu Army in Lizhou (Guangyuan), Sun Hanshao was in Xingyuan Prefecture, and Gao Yanchou was in charge of the Ningjiang Army in Kuizhou. They seemed rock solid, but Meng Chang still felt unsafe.
At this time, Meng Shu's important minister Zhao Jiliang and general Zhang Gongduo had passed away. The celebrities around Meng Chang were Prime Minister Wu Zhaoyi, Li Hao, Hanlin envoy Wang Zao, Tongzou envoy Wang Zhaoyuan and others.
The military generals who can use them include veteran generals Zhao Tingyin and Shi Kai, as well as Li Tinggui, Han Baozheng, Zhao Tingyin's son Zhao Chongtao, etc.
Meng Chang summoned them all to the inner court, pretending to be calm and said: "I heard that Zhang Jun had destroyed Nanping and Nanchu two months ago, so I knew that this man was very ambitious, but I didn't expect that he would be so rampant and start a fight with me.
Shu's attention.
Do you really think that I am a mediocre person like Gao Baorong and Ma Xihe, and that Shu is a small country with less than a million people like Nanping and Nanchu?"
Meng Chang was yelling angrily from above, while the people below looked a little solemn.
In fact, what Meng Chang said is all nonsense, because now Nanping and Southern Chu have been settled, and the Southern Tang has long been defeated. Qian Yue has been serving the Central Plains with contempt since the founding king Qian Liu, and has always regarded himself as a subject of the Central Plains.
Looking at all the countries in the world today, only the Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Han in Lingnan are still claiming the title of Emperor and have not surrendered.
And the Southern Han Dynasty is far away in Lingnan, so what’s the next goal? It must be to conquer Shu!
But no one expected that Zhang Gao was so fast. He only rested for less than a month before he came to attack without stopping.
The urgency of the mood exceeded everyone's expectations.
No one answered. The veteran Zhao Tingyin slowly looked around and saw that they were all Meng Chang's confidants before he spoke.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Zhou army is said to be 150,000, but most of them should be civilians and the so-called guard troops. The real pro-army and forbidden troops are only around 30,000 at most.
With the strategic location of the Shannan West Road and the fact that Prince Le'an is guarding Xingyuan Mansion, the Zhou army only has 150,000, not to mention only 30,000 troops. It will not be possible to break through the Baogu Pass in a short time."
The king of Le'an County is Sun Hanshao, who was granted the title by Meng Chang after Sun Hanshao captured Fengxiang Mansion last time.
Although Fengxiang Mansion was later lost, Sun Hanshao not only escaped unscathed, but also brought back four to five thousand of Zhang Qianzhao's men, which saved a little face for Shu. Therefore, Meng Chang did not take away Sun Hanshao's title of county king.
.
Meng Chang nodded. If there was anyone in Shu who could make him feel most at ease, it would undoubtedly be Sun Hanshao. This person can currently be called the number one general in Shu.
From Sun Hanshao, Meng Chang thought of Zhang Qianzhao and couldn't help but frowned.
The last time Zhang Qianzhao entered Guanzhong, it can be said that he had a big surprise. An army of 30,000 people was beaten violently by more than 10,000 Zhou soldiers. In the end, only three or four thousand people managed to return.
And if Sun Hanshao hadn't taken the lead, the entire army would have been wiped out.
Wang Zhaoyuan, who was on Meng Chang's left, saw Meng Chang's frown and knew what the Emperor of Shu was worried about.
Wang Zhaoyuan was originally an orphan, and later became the son of a monk in Luoyang.
Zhibi later entered Shu and won the favor of Meng Zhixiang, so he often went in and out of the palace, and Wang Zhaoyuan naturally accompanied him from time to time.
This person was fair-skinned, handsome, smart and intelligent. He was favored by Meng Zhixiang and was chosen to accompany Meng Chang, who was also a child at the time. From then on, Wang Zhaoyuan followed Meng Chang and served successively as the roller curtain envoy and the Tongzou envoy.
It can be seen from these official positions that these are official positions that can only be obtained by people who are extremely close to Meng Chang. The relationship is analogous to that of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty and Liu Jin, and Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian.
The two had been together for almost twenty years, and they had long been in the same mind, so Wang Zhaoyuan spoke at the small court meeting.
"In addition to Xingyuan Prefecture, Lizhou is also a key place. Zhongshu Ling has become increasingly depressed since his defeat in Guanzhong. Can he still bear the heavy responsibility?"
Zhang Qianzhao cannot be said to be incompetent, on the contrary, he is a fierce general.
In his early years, he served as the dental school of the Hedong Army, and during Li Cunxu's period, he served as a cavalry envoy. These are all things that only a strong general can do. Zhang Qianzhao was also very capable, and he repeatedly defeated the enemy under Li Cunxu.
You must know that at that time, there were many famous generals in Hedong and Daibei, and their opponent Zhu Liang was not a soft persimmon. Anyone who could leave a name at that time had two skills.
After Mingzong Li Siyuan seized the throne, he also knew Zhang Qianzhao's bravery and promoted him many times, so Zhang Qianzhao was extremely loyal to Li Siyuan from then on.
After Li Congke seized the throne, Zhang Qianzhao was dissatisfied and surrendered to Meng Zhixiang via Shannan West Road (Hanzhong).
As for the fiasco outside Chang'an City, it depends on who the opponent is, who Liu Zaisheng is, he is a general under Zhang Gao.
Based on Zhang Shengren's experience of conquering the north and south in the past few years, as well as the atmosphere of unity and unity, let alone a general, it is not easy for him to be a hero.
The four thousand cavalry commanded by Liu Zaisheng are even more elite in Liangzhou. These people are now the basic team of Zhang Zhou and Jinwu Guards.
Zhang Qianzhao only had 2,000 cavalry, and the rest were infantry. They were watched by more than 10,000 cavalry and were unable to move. Among them were 4,000 Liangzhou horses, who were unable to advance or retreat.
In addition, the disastrous defeat of the Liao Kingdom was completely beyond everyone's expectations. The Zhou army came with great vigor to kill the Khitan Emperor, while the Shu army was frightened. Not to mention Zhang Qianzhao, even Li Cunxiao and Xia Luqi came.
Not easy to use.
Zhao Tingyin glared at Wang Zhaoyuan, even if his son Zhao Chongtao kept winking, he remained unmoved.
Wang Zhaoyuan pretended not to see Zhao Tingyin's gaze and actually said something else. Zhao Tingyin couldn't bear it any longer, and he roared and pointed his halberd at Wang Zhaoyuan.
"Huangkou Shuzi, who are you? Zhang Qianzhao followed Emperor Zhuangmiao to conquer the north and south before he was crowned weak. The three generations of emperors in the subsequent dynasties all praised him for their bravery when they saw him!
How dare you deny General Zang here? Lizhou won't let Zhang Qianzhao defend it, so why should you defend it?"
Wang Zhaoyuan was not as confident as he would be as a powerful minister more than ten years later. When he was scolded by a veteran general like Zhao Tingyin, he immediately did not dare to reply and could only hide his face and retreat behind Meng Chang.
A trace of displeasure flashed across Meng Chang's face. Wang Zhaoyuan was his most confidant. Zhao Tingyin didn't know that beating a dog depends on the owner. He didn't expect that he would be so disrespectful.
Moreover, he is the same age as Wang Zhaoyuan. Zhao Tingyin called Wang Zhaoyuan a yellow-tongued person, so who is he, Meng Chang?
However, Meng Chang is not a fool. Although he cannot be as broad-minded as Zhang Yan, he still knows that he cannot chill the hearts of these veterans at this moment. After all, the war depends on them.
He immediately comforted him and helped Zhao Tingyin scold Wang Zhaoyuan with tears in his eyes.
When Zhao Tingyin saw Meng Chang's behavior, his anger subsided a little. He had already seen Wang Zhaoyuan and Wang Zao being dissatisfied with the sycophants who flattered Meng Chang and led Meng Chang to be extravagant.
"Everyone, although Zhang Qianzhao suffered a disastrous defeat in Guanzhong, it was because there was a vast plain in Guanzhong. With our infantry of Great Shu, it would be extremely difficult for us to fight against the horses of Liangzhou.
It's great that Zhang Qianzhao could hold on until Prince Le'an arrived.
Except for the king of Le'an County, there is no one who can surpass me as a general in Great Shu. Lizhou must not change its generals at this moment."
After Meng Chang listened, he nodded after a long while. Although he felt that Zhao Tingyin, as a veteran, was deliberately praising Zhang Qianzhao, who was in the same group, but at this moment, there was really no candidate to replace Zhang Qianzhao.
After giving Zhao Tingyin face, Meng Chang took the opportunity to ask: "According to what the Taiwei said, I am very relieved that Zhang Sikong is guarding Lizhou.
It’s just that the Zhou army is coming with a fierce force, which route will be the main attack? How should I retreat from the enemy?"
"Shi Situ has been guarding Lizhou, Yuanzhou and other places for a long time. He can answer everyone's questions." Zhao Tingyin looked at Shi Kai, a veteran general like him, Meng Zhixiang.
Meng Chang still had a smile on his face, but he was already scolding him in his heart.
These veterans are like this. They all regard themselves as the founding heroes of the country, show off their seniority, and like to stick together.
If you ask me, you just have to say no, and you have to give up the opportunity to Shi Kai along the way.
Shi Kai didn't feel Meng Chang's displeasure. He stepped forward without hesitation and said to Meng Chang: "It doesn't matter where the Zhou army came from, because there are only a few roads into Shu.
The only thing our Shu relies on is the geographical advantage. When the Zhou army comes from far away, they have to transport food over mountains and ridges, across rivers and gorges. One stone of rice can be transported from Guanzhong to Lizhou, which can take up to three or four fights. If it passes through Jiange, it will be even more difficult.
There is one out of ten difficulties. So it is better to be still than to move. The best way is to consume.
In the past, the leader of the Jin Dynasty, Shi Jingtang, was ordered by the Ming Temple to attack. The late emperor and Lieutenant Zhao relied on this move to force the Tang army to retreat with heavy losses.
Now as long as your Majesty orders the generals to guard the passes, move all the people in Xingzhou, Lizhou and other places inland, and burn all the food that cannot be taken away, the Zhou army will have no choice but to return without success."
What Shi Kai was talking about was the incident in the past when Li Siyuan sent Shi Jingtang to attack Shu.
At that time, Shi Jingtang even destroyed the sword pavilion, but Meng Zhixiang sent Zhao Tingyin to fortify the walls and clear the country and he was unable to get out, forcing him to retreat.
It's just that Shi Kai never left the late emperor, and he also kept praising Zhao Tingyin. Meng Chang was really furious when he heard it, but he had to listen.
Shi Kai's suggestion was correct, but it was a little too ruthless and a little too cowardly. It basically meant giving up the territory north of Xingzhou and also clearing the country.
In Meng Chang's heart, he really couldn't bear to get even a little bit closer to the territory of Guanzhong, because it was related to his illusory dream of marching into Guanzhong and becoming the emperor of the Central Plains.
Moreover, Meng Chang was still thinking about avenging his previous shame. Now that someone else was knocking on his door, he still had to be a coward. He was really unwilling to do so.
Zhao Tingyin knew from Meng Chang's expression that he was very unwilling, but at this moment Wang Chuhui, the privy envoy from behind, came out and said to Meng Chang.
"Sage, no matter which way the Zhou army comes, with the presence of Prince Le'an and Zhang Sikong, the Zhou army will definitely be unable to advance. But if Zhang Zhongshu leaves Suizhou, there may be disaster!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the room had very excited expressions.
Meng Chang's color suddenly changed. Meng Chang's confidants like Wang Zhaoyuan and Wang Zao felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Veteran generals like Zhao Tingyin and Shi Kai had complicated expressions. Prime Minister Wu Zhaoyi and Li Hao were worried.
The Zhang Zhongshu mentioned by Wang Chuhui does not refer to Zhang Qianzhao, who had the title of Zhongshu Ling, but to Zhang Ye, the minister of Zhongshu in Meng Shu, who was Tongpingzhangshi.
This man and his uncle Li Renhan are representatives of the veterans during the Meng Zhixiang period.
If people like Zhao Tingyin and Shi Kai are just relying on their elders to show off their talents, then Zhang Ye and his uncle Li Renhan have evil intentions.
Li Renhan was killed by Meng Chang a few years ago, but as a nephew, Zhang Ye did not learn any lessons from his uncle Li Renhan.
He was tricked by Meng Chang the year before and lost control of the Forbidden Army, but his strength and prestige were still there. With the defeat of Meng Shu in the pass, he gradually returned to the court and became the de facto prime minister.
Zhang Ye even asked Meng Chang to promote his son Zhang Jizhao to the position of Minister Zuopushe.
From then on, the father and son became authoritarian and domineering, and the government was involved in private affairs. They recruited desperadoes to gather in the mansion. They also recruited a large number of swordsmen around them on the pretext that their son Zhang Jizhao loved swordsmanship.
It was almost obvious what they wanted to do, but in view of the presence of thousands of desperadoes, Meng Chang never dared to attack him.
Previously, there were rumors from various places in central Shu that the Zhou army had sent troops to attack Xingyuan Prefecture and Kuizhou. Zhang Ye wrote to Meng Chang, saying that he was going to the area under the jurisdiction of the Jiedu Envoy of Wuxin Army in Suizhou to pick up rumors and lawlessness.
Meng Chang was eager to drive Zhang Ye out of the center again, so he immediately agreed.
But when Wang Chu reminded him of this, he immediately felt that something was wrong. He was not leaving town. He was probably trying to lure a wolf into the house, right?
After a long time, Zhao Tingyin looked at Wang Chu and said, "Zhongshu is a loyal minister of the country. Does the Privy Council have evidence?"
Wang Chuhui did not look at Zhao Tingyin but at Meng Chang and said: "Among the swordsmen recruited by Zhongshu, there are people from Chen's country. I heard that Zuo Pushe has ordered him to go down and ask him to get close to him and then write. I can only write about Zhang Jike."
Write Zhang Jizhao."
"It's contrary! It's contrary! Zhang Ye and his son want to sell me like a pig or a dog!"
Meng Chang, who was so angry that he couldn't bear it any longer, started yelling uncontrollably.
The emperor Zhou's name is Zhang Zhao. Although the name has been changed to "鉊", Zhang Jizhao is obviously avoiding taboos! It is obvious what he wants to do.