Tibet

Chapter 827 The Ming Army is a real bandit

The medicine store in Chang'an West Market is the wholesale center of Chang'an medicinal materials. Although there are only more than thirty stores, each store does a huge business. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars are sold every year. This place has actually become a The largest medicinal materials distribution center in the world.

Especially after the war broke out, the army had a huge demand for various medicinal materials. Medicinal materials from all over the world were continuously exported to Chang'an and distributed wholesale by more than thirty medicinal materials shops in the West City.

Of course, the backgrounds of these medicinal shops are not trivial. They are all related to various powerful families. There are two from the Dugu family alone and one from the Changsun family.

The small power group headed by the Dugu family supports Li Ye, not only with food, but also with medicinal materials. From last year to now, the Dugu family group has provided four batches of medicinal materials to Longyou, worth more than 200,000 yuan. Of course, they are all provided free of charge. Otherwise, how can we call it support?

In the past two days, the Shennong Pavilion of the Dugu family has been purchasing large quantities of honeysuckle, isatis root and dried ginger, almost buying out the entire inventory in the West Market.

These three herbs were requested by Li Ye in order to prepare for the introduction of a large number of refugees. Honeysuckle and isatis root are very good for anti-inflammatory and detoxifying the human body, but they are relatively cold, so they must be boiled with old dry ginger. On the way, the refugees would eat it every day. If they can drink a bowl, they can ensure that they will not be struck down by the disease.

This is one of the experiences gained by the Helong Army in rescuing millions of refugees in Xiangyang. The refugees have a strong desire to survive. They can travel thousands of miles, but they will be defeated by either hunger, illness, or fatigue. As long as they If these details are done well, it will basically ensure that refugees from Hebei arrive safely at Shuofang and Longyou.

Of course, not only Chang'an, but Helong Jiedu Mansion also purchased large quantities of medicinal materials from Bashu, Jianghuai and Jiangnan through Zhang Ping's trading firm, and transported them to Longyou.

Not only medicinal materials, but also a large number of other supplies, such as grain, quicklime, tents, etc., as well as various means of transportation.

In Bianzhou, Henan Province, a fleet of hundreds of vehicles and ships sailed slowly in the Cao River. Currently, the boundary between the Tang Army and Shi Siming's army is the Grand Canal. The Tang Army controls the east of the canal, and the Yan Army controls the west of the canal. It is also divided into two, with few ships on the west side and busy ships on the east coast.

The two sides were temporarily in a state of truce. The key was that Shi Siming's Yan army stopped their offensive. The reason was exactly the same as An Lushan. Shi Siming also had problems with his successor.

The eldest son Shi Chaoyi, who was responsible for the attack from the south to the east, found out that he was about to be abandoned by his father and his brother Shi Chaoqing would be appointed as the prince instead. Shi Chaoyi no longer thought about expansion and ordered to stop attacking Shaanzhou, and also stopped the eastward and southward expansion. , giving Tang Jun a chance to breathe.

Li Ye also discovered this opportunity and immediately dispatched 600 medium-sized vehicles and ships from Xiangyang to Longyou. The vehicles and ships were about one thousand dan each. There were waterwheels on both sides of the rear. The soldiers stepped on the wheels inside the boats to bring the waterwheels to Longyou. power.

Not only were the carriages and ships filled with food, but there were also ten soldiers in each ship, who were watching the situation on both sides of the strait vigilantly, not only to guard against attacks by the Yan army, but also to guard against being plundered by the Tang army.

At night, the fleet sailed at the junction of Zhengzhou and Bianzhou. Zhengzhou ahead was completely controlled by the Yan army. The Yan army cut off the canal in Zhengzhou. It was impossible to go to the Yellow River from the normal Grand Canal, but it was not impossible. , under the guidance of the guide, the fleet sailed into a small river.

There were two people piloting the first boat. One was a local guide and the other was Liu Xingyuan, the capital water officer. He and two boatmen boarded the boat in Chenliu County. The opportunity was fleeting. Li Ye wanted to capture Tang Jun and Yan. There was a brief opportunity for the army to confront each other in Caohe, so when he met Liu Xingyuan and two boatmen at Longyou, 600 warships had already left Jingxiang and headed for Yangzhou.

Therefore, Liu Xingyuan and the others did not go to Jingxiang, but rushed directly to Chenliu and boarded the ship in Chenliu County.

Liu Xingyuan lay on the deck and stared at the bottom of the water and the situation on both sides of the bank. He suddenly shouted: "Stop sailing!"

Miao Chun, the escort captain, was puzzled and stepped forward and asked, "Why stop sailing?"

"The water is too shallow, the river is narrow, and there are aquatic plants underneath. The paddle wheel can easily get caught by the aquatic plants!"

Miao Chun nodded repeatedly and asked: "Then how to sail?"

"Just use the tow rope to pull it across this section of the river!"

Miao Chun quickly ordered, "Stop the trampling of cars and boats and use fiber ropes to pull them!"

Originally, rope pulling was a backup plan for the fleet. The soldiers took action one after another and connected the bow and stern of the boat with ropes. They were also sent to nearby villages and hired hundreds of men at high prices to pull the first boat slowly along both sides of the river.

The Yan army did not notice this fleet coming from Jingxiang, but it was stared at by another force, that is, Huapu Jiedu envoy Xu Shuji. After Xu Shuji was defeated from Xiangzhou, he still had more than 13,000 men in his hands. Guard Huazhou and Puzhou.

Now that the imperial court has lost control over Henan Province, all the military governors are basically Tu emperors. The fleet went north from Yangzhou and received the care of Huainan military governor Gao Shi, Qingxu military governor Lu Jiong, and Huaixi Laiyi along the way. , no accident occurred.

But the problem still lies with Liang Chongyi, the governor of Bianzhou and the military envoy. In the study, Liang Chongyi paced back and forth. He had just received a report from officials that the fleet found in Caohe was carrying grain.

Liang Chongyi couldn't help but feel his heart beat. How could he pretend to turn a blind eye to such a fat sheep and let it pass in front of him?

But Liang Chongyi was in a dilemma. He found that there were many military guards in the ship, at least five to six thousand people. If he took action himself, not only would the army suffer serious losses, but he would also offend Li Ye and even anger the court.

But he was not willing to let the fleet go in vain, which really put him in a dilemma.

Staff Wu Jinzhu whispered to the crowd: "If you are in trouble, it is better to let Xu Shuji take action."

One sentence reminded Liang Chongyi that Xu Shuji was famous for plucking the feathers of geese. He would definitely not let go of the fleet. Moreover, Xu Shuji often sent troops to Bianzhou to plunder. Liang Chongyi had long wanted to deal with him, so he could take this opportunity to give him Dig a big hole.

If Xu Shuji robbed the fleet and food, he would definitely keep it a secret, and he would also get a share of the pie.

If Xu Shuji is defeated, he can still report to the emperor and severely impeach Xu Shuji, and he can take the opportunity to capture the two states of Puhua.

It can be said that he killed two birds with one stone. Liang Chongyi immediately wrote a letter and told him that the Longyou fleet was passing through the border and was loaded with hundreds of thousands of grains. There was no army to protect it. He asked Xu Shuji to send an army to protect him.

The writing is very polished and grand, just waiting for Xu Shuji to jump out of this pit.

Xu Shuji was worried about the lack of food. When he heard that there were 600 ships of food, he immediately became excited. Liang Chongyi was right. The plucking of wild geese was Xu Shuji's character, and it was Xu Shuji's true nature to be bold and reckless.

Xu Shuji doesn't care what the court and Li Ye think, six hundred ships of grain! This was the most important wealth. He immediately led the five thousand troops stationed in Huazhou to intercept the fleet.

About ten miles away from the creek, Xu Shuji led 5,000 troops hiding in a forest. The spies came to report that the fleet was spotted ahead.

A general worriedly asked: "Will the other side have soldiers guarding the ship?"

Xu Shuji snorted, "Of course there will be soldiers escorting the ship, but the maximum number is five hundred. That's to deal with bandits along the way. The real escort needs to be relayed by the Tang army along the way."

At this time, General Pan Lin suggested to Xu Shuji: "Your Majesty, the best way is to kill them all and leave no one alive. Even if the court comes to investigate, it can be said that they have encountered the Yan army."

Xu Shuji nodded, "What you said makes sense, but we have to be prepared in case we can't kill them all and some of them escape, so we have to make our motives clear."

"They said they colluded with the Yan army to transport food to the Yan army!" Another general said.

Xu Shuji thought the same way. He immediately ordered one of his generals: "You lead a hundred cavalry and say that someone has reported that they are colluding with the Yan army. You want them all to disembark and be inspected."

"What should I do if they don't want to?" the general asked, scratching his head.

Xu Shuji's eyes widened, "Nonsense, they will definitely not agree, but we must be polite before sending troops. Since they don't agree, I have a reason to send troops. If they refuse, you should return immediately without saying any more nonsense!"

"I humbly obey my orders!"

The general led a hundred cavalrymen and ran south along an official road.

Xu Shuji shouted sternly: "Send the whole army to ambush by the river!"

(End of this chapter)