Chapter 567: Giving both kindness and power, playing hard to get
This battle was fought without any surprises.
From the moment Yuanhui opened the gate and left the city, to the time Li Zhang led his army to the north city, the overall situation was settled.
It only lasted for two moments, and the city was like purgatory. The defenders on the city didn't even dare to show their heads, not to mention firing arrows or falling rocks.
The one thousand Chinese army that had some fighting strength had been destroyed by Yuan Hui. Although there were still two to three hundred cavalry left in Wengcheng, when they saw the firearms battalion carrying fire crossbows into the city, it was like a wall falling down.
Kneel down on the ground.
Under the pressure of the general, the defenders in the inner city gritted their teeth and carried stones, rafters, and earth bags to block the inner city gate.
But how could Li Zhang miss this opportunity?
After more than a dozen crossbow shots, the urn city gate was blown to pieces. The infantry inside the gate either shivered and knelt down to beg for surrender. Or they scattered like birds and beasts and escaped completely.
Having seen the power of firearms, the defenders of West City and East City fell to their knees...
It wasn't until Xihai Buqu, who was wearing leather robes and carrying a fire crossbow, was pressing down the east and west cities toward the south city that Xin Xiong realized in hindsight: In this way, the city was destroyed?
There are tigers outside and hungry wolves inside. The frightened defenders, who were already frightened by the tenacity of the armored soldiers outside the city, have no fighting spirit at all. How can they resist?
Looking at the soldiers kneeling on the wall, Xin Xiong looked up to the sky and cried out sadly: Yuan Hui mistakenly made me...
……
It was at Shenshi time that Li Chengzhi received the news that he had led his rear army to capture Panhe County, which was about two hundred miles away from Wuwei County.
There are only three to four thousand defenders in Lianzhou City, and there are only thousands of civilian households. How many guards can there be in a small city with a city wall that is almost ten feet long?
Li Chengzhi didn't even order his soldiers to besiege the city. He just shot a letter urging surrender on the city, and the county magistrate surrendered.
If he doesn’t surrender, he won’t be able to do it.
Seeing the dense military formations under the city, and the convoys equipped with ladders, stone cannons, and watchtowers, the officials and wealthy households in the city surrounded the county government office. If the county magistrate refused to surrender, he would be tied up.
The posture of Chu Chengyun.
So in just half a moment, the city gate opened, and the small county government office was filled with people kneeling on their knees.
Just as he was about to enter the city, Li Chengzhi received the news that Li Liang had conquered Wuwei County and Yuan Hui had died in battle.
After glancing at the emergency report, there was not much surprise on his face, as if he had long been accustomed to it.
Ever since Li Liang sent troops from the West Sea, he had captured two counties and eight counties in one month, and it was like this. Even the city was defeated in less than half a day. It was not just luck.
The reason is simply that the power of firearms overturned this era.
But now, it is just the most primitive explosive package tied to the crossbow and fired. What will happen if artillery or even muzzle-loading guns are developed in a while?
Li Chengzhi didn't know what kind of impact it would have on future generations, but now he was riding a tiger and couldn't get off, so he could only bite the bullet...
With thoughts of chaos swirling in his mind, he ordered his confidant to send an order to Li Liang to rest in Guzang City for a day. When dawn tomorrow, he would escort the people, cars, horses, grain and grass, etc. back to the West Sea.
Even though there are few people in Liangzhou and there are more than 10,000 households in the city, it would still take six to seven hundred miles to move to the north of Zhenyi Pass. If it were faster, it would take more than half a month. If there is a slight delay, it might even take one month.
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But there’s no need to worry.
If the news really leaks out, it will take ten days and a half until the nearby Shanshan Town, Jiuquan County, and Jincheng County hear the news, and then it will take another ten days and a half months to reach the capital.
By then, the imperial court should mobilize its troops and generals with all their strength, hoping to compete with Gao Zhao, so there is no time to worry about the already useless Hexi.
There is also no guarantee that Li Chengzhi's wishes will be fulfilled. Even if there was no chaos in Guanzhong at that time, there would still be instability. The imperial court was flawlessly concerned about Hexi and would only ask the nearby towns and counties to find out the truth.
Or guard against it.
Coupled with the unclear situation, these places would not dare to send troops rashly, so Li Chengzhi could calmly transport households, supplies, etc. to the West Sea.
This was also his intention in sending troops to Dongliangzhou this time: to take advantage of Gaozhao's rebellion and the panic of the imperial court, to first rob Zhangye and Jiuquan, leaving thousands of miles of bare land.
It will depend on the actual situation later. When the imperial court and Gao Zhao are about to beat their brains out, it will not be too late to seize Jiuquan, or even attack Dunhuang Town and Shanshan Town.
It's not that we have to capture these two towns. At most, we can show our fangs to make these two towns wary of rats and not dare to invade Hexi easily.
And by next spring at most, Li Chengzhi will station troops in various counties and counties, and move households into the city to resume farming.
Only when the three counties in Hexi gradually stabilized, with 100,000 hectares of arable land, an annual grain output of 10 million dan, and the ability to support more than 100,000 households, was his initial strategic intention achieved.
This stage can take anywhere from three to five years to eight to ten years or even longer. During this period, as long as no one invades Hexi, Li Chengzhi will never send a single soldier into the pass.
It seems like a long time, but Li Chengzhi is not in a hurry at all.
If you want to achieve your ambition, you must have enough patience...
After a while, Li Chengzhi led a group of cronies into Fanhe County.
The county town is not big, with a radius of only three or four miles. They are all made of rammed earth walls, and the highest point is only two feet.
There are only a thousand households in the county. If it were Guanzhong, the manors of the larger powerful families would be larger than this, and the walls would be higher than this.
You can see the desolation of Hexi.
From the county magistrate down, officials and wealthy people in the city knelt on the ground outside the government hall. When they saw hundreds of horsemen surrounding a general in silver armor entering the hospital, they all felt like a strong wind blowing through a wheat field.
They all bowed down.
The purpose of Li Chengzhi's trip was to rob people, not to kill, so his attitude was very gentle. He waved his hand gently, with a smile in his tone: "Get up and answer."
Hearing the well-spoken Guanzhong dialect, the county magistrate was stunned, raised his head and stared at Li Chengzhi for a while.
It's a pity that Li Chengzhi wore a tiger-head hood and covered his face tightly, so that only a pair of eyes could be seen.
I saw black eyes with black eyes, and there seemed to be a hidden light in the eyes, which was extremely lively. The county magistrate hesitated for a moment, then cautiously and tentatively said: "Han people?"
He also spoke with a Guanzhong accent, so he must be from the Binzhou area. Li Chengzhi couldn't help but feel happy: Still a fellow countryman?
Seeing everyone standing up, Li Chengzhi was about to ask the county magistrate about his origins. He turned his head slightly and saw a bright silver light, and he couldn't help but look away.
He should be a Hu man, wearing a leather robe and a felt hat. But he is not as slovenly as the common Hu men, and he is very tidy.
What’s strange about Li Chengzhi is not this barbarian’s appearance.
Fanhe County has been a grazing land for Xirong since the Western Zhou Dynasty. Ten miles north of the county town, there is still an ancient city of Liqian with a history of more than a thousand years.
It was not until the Han Dynasty, when Zhao Chongguo governed Hexi and settled troops and fields that Han people settled there. After the Later Han Dynasty, the Three Kingdoms, the Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Liang Dynasties, the Yuan Wei Dynasty, under the influence of the Han people, there were many Hu people in Hexi who admired the Kingdom of Heaven, and they were clean and tidy.
Some of them are not strange.
What Li Chengzhi was curious about was the long string of beads hanging around the Hu man's neck.
It's not like silver, nor tin, but bright silver with a hint of yellow.
After a few glances, he had an idea in his mind, and subconsciously stretched out his hand: "Can I borrow it for a look?"
At this time, everyone is a swordsman and he is a fish. How dare the barbarian people have any objection?
He quickly took off the bead chain from his neck and presented it with both hands. He thought that Li Chengzhi was interested in his jewelry, so he quickly smiled and replied in blunt Chinese: "I would like to give it to you..." p>
"No need!"
Li Chengzhi waved his hand, took the bead chain and looked at it.
The beads are round and round, and should be carefully polished raw ore. The silver is tinged with gold, and the brilliance is really eye-catching.
In his previous life, he studied exploration and exploration, so he certainly knew what it was.
Nickel copper alloy!
The function of this thing in this era is very limited, but it is very practical: anti-rust!
After a little refining, it can be plated on armor or ironware and it will remain rust-free for several years.
In addition, copper is a hard currency in this era. Even a pound of bronze with six copper and four lead can be exchanged for more than two stones of grain. How about such a rare thing that is not rusty for many years?
I actually forgot that Fanhe County was Yongchang in later generations. Just because of this thing in my hand, the country built a city in the desert thousands of miles away, and it was a prefecture-level city.
Therefore, the reserves of this thing are definitely not small here. Looking at the barbarian hanging it majestically around his neck, you know that he must have picked it up accidentally. There are nine out of ten ore veins nearby that can be mined in the open pit.
What an unexpected surprise...
Li Chengzhi looked at it and returned the bead chain. He then told Li Xiaoxian: "Later, ask carefully where this thing came from. Try to find the source. I will be of great use!"
"Follow your orders!"
"Officials, wealthy households, and civilians all moved to Zhenyi as usual, and no one was left out... If there are people who are disobedient, they should not be shy about military law. But if you follow them, you must
Take good care of me, don’t forget, these are all my people of the Li family..."
Li Xiaoxian responded respectfully, but the people who were demoted from official positions and civilians had different thoughts, whether they were surprised, happy or worried.
For example, the county magistrate is more and more certain that the leader who issued the order is undoubtedly Han. Not only is he Han, but he also has a surname from Guanzhong, and now his name is even reported: Li!
How many famous Li families are there in Guanzhong?
The larger one is the Longxi Li family, followed by the Wuzhi Li family and the Zuju Li family.
What surprised him was that if he was intentional, it would not be difficult to guess which branch of the Li family he belonged to. But since the leader dared to speak frankly in front of them, he must be fully confident and would not worry about leaks.
So let’s not talk about resisting. Even if you are a little panicked, I’m afraid you will end up with a lot of heads.
What I am happy about is that from what he said, it seems that he has no intention of causing more casualties, but that he just wants to move all the people in the city to Mount Heli.
What worries me is that the future is uncertain, and God knows whether I will be a slave or a servant in the future.
But even the rich Hu people know that people are just cutters and I am fish and meat. How can the county magistrate not understand this?
So within a few breaths, the county magistrate figured it out and made a decision. After Li Chengzhi left, Li Xiao first asked him about the livelihood of the people in the county, such as the number of households, the amount of food and grass, the number of vehicles, cattle and horses, and how many people there were in the county.
Chang Jing knows everything he knows and talks about everything, which is not an ordinary cooperation.
It saved Li Xiaoxian a lot of trouble.
After resting all night, at dawn, the whole county was in motion.
Thousands of soldiers supervise more than a thousand households, and there are county magistrates and county officials leading the way, so it is easy.
Li Xiaoxian did not resort to strong pressure, but followed the policy of "giving both kindness and power" that Li Chengzhi repeatedly explained, and implemented a two-pronged strategy.
First, bribes with large sums of money were given, and favors were given to the county officials and the third chief. Then, the military Sima, the recorder, and other civil servants accompanied the neighboring chiefs, li chiefs, and party chiefs to promise to the people:
None of the people's private property will be taken away from them; it will all go to each family.
Any items that cannot be carried and need to be abandoned will be compensated according to the price. Such as residence, farmland, etc.
And each household is assigned two to three soldiers, called helpers and registered in the register, which are actually to monitor and urge.
Of course, if there are unscrupulous people, they can only use extraordinary measures. The swords on the waists of the soldiers sent to each household and the bows on their backs are not just for appearance?
In this way, the progress was not as fast as usual. It only took one day for all the people in the city to be registered and all the belongings at home were loaded into the cars.
After resting for another night, at dawn on the third day, more than a thousand households and a battalion of armored cavalry left the city and hit the road.
To everyone's surprise, the security on this road was quite relaxed. As long as the journey was not delayed, as long as they did not deviate from the road or cause more trouble, the soldiers in custody would not meddle in other people's business.
At this moment, after having traveled sixty miles and an hour before the sun set, the general ordered the entire army to set up camp.
There is not much arable land in Fanhe, and nine out of ten households in Fanhe are granted permission to make a living, so the pastoral tent is a must-have item for the family.
If there is a shortage of people, the soldiers accompanying each household will send military tents.
After setting up the tent, the soldiers would order each household to make rice. The food was provided by the soldiers for free to each household. It was made from steamed millet, dried in the sun, and ground into powder with dried meat, with enough refined salt added.
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It can't be said to be very delicious, but compared to the poor households who either lack salt or eat bitter and astringent salt nitrate every meal, it is quite delicious.
And it’s extremely convenient, just flush it!
This made most of the people feel more at ease, and the brave ones even took out dried meat and gave it to the soldiers.
However, they all used the excuse that military discipline is strict and those who are awarded must be subject to military law...
Seeing the soldiers and their colors emboldened many people. Coupled with the lack of confidence in their hearts, their minds became more active
First, the Hu tribe, who was so excited about wearing beads, tried three times and sneaked into the county magistrate's tent. Then, like flies that smelled the smell, more than ten people came one after another.
Among them, if they were not government officials, they were wealthy households in the county. After a while, they could no longer even sit in the tent.
The county magistrate was blocked in the tent, his face was as white as paper, and the cold juice on his forehead was dripping down like beads.
He shouted coldly, with a tremor in his voice: "Are you seeking death?"
"Why did the county prince say this?"
The county magistrate looked puzzled, "It was precisely because we didn't want to sit back and wait for death that we approached the county monarch to discuss the plan..."
It’s just a matter of discussion, are you afraid that grandpa won’t die quickly enough?
The county magistrate was shivering all over his body as if he had a cold.
After shaking for a long time, he shouted: "Come on!"
There was a roar, as if they were emerging from the ground, and countless armored soldiers suddenly appeared outside the tent that had been silent just now.
The few cronies who were arranged by the county magistrate and several wealthy households to be watched outside the tent did not even make a sound before being bundled into a ball.
"Pull out..."
With a low drink, the county magistrate gave a sharp meal. Looking at the blue-white face of the county magistrate, his heart finally softened, "Pull him out and tie him up..."
Seeing a few soldiers coming in, they carried the county magistrate out like a chicken, and everyone in the tent felt a biting chill.