Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 86: Counterattack
"What..."

"Alright, fifty-seven thousand four hundred and twenty-four!"

Outside Shandan City, as a soldier drove the last sheep out of the pen, the results of the Donglue sheep flock this time remained at the number he said.

This string of numbers was quickly reported to the distant tent, where Liu Jilong, Shang Bibi, Shang Duoluo and others were sitting.

Liu Jilong looked very energetic, but Shang Bibi looked a little bloated, obviously she had worked very hard last night.

"As agreed, the cattle and horses belong to me, and the sheep will be split in half."

"After the flock is divided in half, will the Jiedushi still need to borrow grain?"

"If you want to borrow grain, it will be the same as before, one sheep for one stone of grain."

Inside the tent, Liu Jilong looked at Shang Bibi with a smile. He did not ask for an exorbitant amount of money, but discussed the matter according to the original agreement.

Seeing that he was so trustworthy, Shang Bibi and his two sons all looked at him in surprise.

In this chaotic world, there are not many people who keep their promises, let alone Liu Jilong, who is a strong man and yet is so trustworthy. This made Shang Bibi and the other two sigh that he is a loyal and honest man.

"I will take two thousand of these sheep, and the rest will be used as food."

"How about I leave 20,000 dan of grain and take the rest?"

Shang Bibi asked tentatively. After all, Shanzhou was backed by the plateau, and he was a nobleman who was not from the Lu family. As long as he had food, he would not have trouble exchanging it for sheep.

"can!"

Liu Jilong nodded in agreement, which made Shang Bibi breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, she lowered her head and looked at the tea in front of her and said:
"This tea is quite novel. Can it be used for trade?"

The time for the Qilian Mountains to thaw is not far away, so Shang Bibi naturally has to return to Shanzhou and prepare for how to govern Shanzhou.

Shandan's fried tea has a long shelf life and a refreshing taste. Shang Bibi believes that this fried tea can win the favor of many nobles in Lhasa City.

His ideas coincided with Liu Jilong's.

Roasted tea is a product that is meant to open up the market. Otherwise, there would be no need to go through so much trouble just to satisfy Liu Jilong's personal appetite.

"How about exchanging one horse for every hundred catties?"

Liu Jilong took a sip of the tea and casually stated a price.

Shang Bibi nodded: "Okay, I also want to discuss other business with Guo Yi."

"Linen, iron, tea, grain... these are the commodities that Shanzhou needs, and I can exchange them with horses."

Although the temperature has not dropped yet, there are already many supplies on the plateau that cannot be self-sufficient.

Although it did not reach the level of the Ming and Qing dynasties where "the foreigners died of illness due to lack of tea", slave uprisings occurred one after another in the plateau and production was greatly disrupted.

Under such circumstances, dumping goods on the plateau and obtaining goods from Hexi became the best means to restore the people's livelihood in Shanzhou.

Naturally, Liu Jilong could not refuse this, and he was not worried that Shang Bibi would become more powerful because of this.

After all, Shang Bibi is good at some tricks, but her military ability is too poor.

Even if he returned to Shanzhou, the only generals under his command who could fight were Shang Duoluo and Tuoba Huaiguang.

In addition, his two sons were not promising, and he was approaching fifty years old and might die in a few years, so Liu Jilong had no need to worry about him at all.

On the contrary, he was planning to use Shang Bibi to do something.

Of course, these things should not be done now, but should be done after they recover Liangzhou and Longxi.

The fate of Zhang Yichao and Zhang Huaishen in history taught Liu Jilong a truth, that is, being loyal to the Tang court in the middle and late Tang Dynasty would only lead to bullying, and one had to give the Tang court a little shock from time to time like the three towns of Heshuo in order to live a comfortable life.

However, this shock could not be triggered by Liu Jilong himself, so Shang Bibi became the best candidate.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong responded to Shang Bibi's words:

"Exchanging what we have is the way to development. I will have people solve the problems mentioned by the Jiedushi after he returns to Shanzhou."

"Okay, okay..." Shang Bibi nodded with a smile, and then looked at the herd in the distance:
"In that case, please ask Guo Yi to separate the herds and food. I will take the herds and food back to the camp first."

"Okay," Liu Jilong nodded, and then summoned Cui Shu and Chen Jingchong to divide the herds and transfer food.

According to what the two had discussed, Cui Shu mobilized the entire city's military and civilians, and with the help of more than 1,500 Shanzhou troops, he transferred more than 6,000 stones of grain within an hour.

In order to transport this batch of grain, Shandan lent almost all the carts in the city to Shang Bibi.

There was no use for Shang Bibi to ask for these carts. After all, when Tuoba Huaiguang sent people to escort the Han people from Shanzhou to Shandan, he would naturally bring a sufficient number of horse-drawn carriages. Therefore, after the food arrived at the camp, Shang Bibi asked Shang Duoluo to take people to return the carts.

With the end of the livestock and grain transactions, except for the 20,000 shi of grain owned by Shang Bibi stored in the granary, the two no longer had any disputes over interests.

I thought the day would pass peacefully, but I never expected that near dusk, a group of people appeared in the distance in the north.

After the Tang cavalry reported back, Liu Jilian learned that Zhang Huaishen had led elite cavalry to Shandan.

"Damn it, it's our turn to be robbed this time!"

Inside the yamen, Liu Jilong learned that Zhang Huaishen had arrived, and he immediately made predictions to Chen Jingchong, Li Yizhong and others with a wry smile.

Several people looked at each other, with a bit of helplessness on their faces.

"Let's go to the north gate to pick up the governor."

Liu Jilong stood up and asked everyone to go out. In just a quarter of an hour, he arrived outside the north gate and was waiting.

Zhang Huaishen did not make Liu Jilong wait too long. Less than a cup of tea after they arrived at the north gate, he appeared in their sight on horseback with more than a hundred elite cavalry.

As they approached the city gate, Liu Jilong and his men bowed and saluted: "Shandan Zuo Guoyi Liu Jilong leads the generals to meet the governor!"

"Xu..."

Zhang Huaishen reined in his horse in front of everyone, dismounted skillfully, and stepped forward to pat Liu Jilong on the arm.

"I heard you got rich, I came to see you."

He did not try to hide his intentions and stated directly his purpose, which was comparable to that of the local bandits who robbed people on the road.

"We have just divided the land with the Shanzhou army, and have not had time to inform the governor."

Liu Jilong smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking that Zhang Huaishen must have calculated the day of his return when he led his troops to the battle, otherwise he would not have been so punctual.

"I am your governor after all. I borrowed 400 horses from you before. Is it not too much for you to return 500 horses to me?"

Zhang Huaishen had a smile on his face, and Liu Jilong could only smile along and say, "Not too much, not too much..."

"Who is Cui Shu? Bring me the document."

Seeing that Liu Jilong did not refuse, Zhang Huaishen smiled even more, glanced at everyone and then spoke.

Cui Shu glanced at Liu Jilong when he saw Liu Jilong nod, then he took out the document he had prepared earlier for Zhang Huaishen to read.

Liu Jilong took the stool from Chen Jingchong and placed it on the ground for Zhang Huaishen to sit on.

After all, judging from his attitude, he probably won't enter the city easily unless he takes away enough benefits.

"Your oxen, draft horses, and horses are almost as good as those in Zhangye."

After a quick glance, Zhang Huaishen started to tease Shandan's "wealth". Liu Jilong could only smile awkwardly and nodded, thinking that he just hoped this guy wouldn't go too far.

"It's not safe for you to graze in Shandan. I will take away 10,000 sheep and 500 military horses, and leave the rest to you."

Zhang Huaishen's words surprised Liu Jilong. He didn't expect that Zhang Huaishen's tricks would be so gentle.

It's a pity that he thought too much. Facts proved that Zhang Huaishen was more cunning than Liu Jilong thought.

Seeing him close the book, Liu Jilong was about to breathe a sigh of relief when Zhang Huaishen continued:
"The people you brought back this time will be left to you, but when the people from Shanzhou come over, you will send 4,000 people, including the elderly, the weak, women and children, to Zhangye."

"Ah?" Liu Jilong said in surprise. Zhang Huaishen raised his eyebrows and said, "You don't want to?"

"No no……"

Liu Jilong was a little speechless. After holding it in for a long time, he could only nod and said, "I'm just worried that there won't be enough food in Zhangye."

"Don't worry about that!" Zhang Huaishen stood up and handed the document to Liu Jilong's chest.

"This year, the four states of Yi, Gua, Sha and Su all had a good harvest."

"Upon learning that Shanzhou was willing to return the people, the governor specially ordered 40,000 shi of grain to be transported to Zhangye."

"You have done a great job in this matter. In a few days, I will have someone send 20,000 dan of grain to you, so that your granary will not be wasted by you..."

Liu Jilong heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, and bowed with a smile: "Thank you, Governor."

"Okay, we've been traveling for two days and haven't had a good hot meal yet. Ask someone to prepare something."

Zhang Huaishen waved his hand and turned to lead the team into the city.

Without Liu Jilong's instructions, Li Yizhong took the initiative to greet Zhang Huaishen and others, while Liu Jilong stayed at the city gate.

After Zhang Huaishen and his men had all entered the city, Cui Shu stepped forward with a bitter face and said, "Guo Yi, give them all to me..."

"Nonsense!" Liu Jilong glared at Cui Shu. Although Zhang Huaishen "robbed" him, he had also robbed Zhang Huaishen many times. He was robbed this time, and he would rob again in a few days. Thinking of this, Liu Jilong ordered: "Pick the best from the herd, don't pass the inferior ones off as good ones. Also prepare 500 kilograms of fried tea and send it to the governor and his men when they return."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Jilong quickly caught up with Zhang Huaishen and his team.

Walking on the long street of Shandan, Zhang Huaishen looked around with interest.

This was his first visit to Shandan, and he was very satisfied with the appearance of Shandan.

As spring planting is still more than half a month away, and many projects in and outside the city have been completed, the people of Shandan are now idle in the city.

Faced with Zhang Huaishen's arrival, many people looked out at the gate. When they saw Liu Jilong, they did not speak, but bowed from a distance.

They wore clean cloth and lived in repaired houses, which, although not beautiful, were very tidy.

Judging from their plump faces, Liu Jilong took good care of them.

In addition, the smooth and clean roads also show Liu Jilian's dedication to Shandan City.

At least since Zhang Huaishen's eastern expedition and settlement of Ganzhou, he had never seen any officials in any city govern the city as well as Shandan.

You should know that Shandan is a military town, not an ordinary city.

In military towns like Shandan, people’s lives are not miserable, but they are certainly not as prosperous as those in ordinary cities.

But this stereotype is broken here.

Walking on the streets of Shandan, Zhang Huaishen could feel the respect and admiration that the people of Shandan had for Liu Jilong.

He knew all of Liu Jillong's political achievements. After all, Liu Jillong would write documents and send them to Zhangye every month to tell him what he had done.

But before this, Zhang Huaishen thought that Liu Jilong was just exaggerating.

Now it seems that Liu Jilong was not exaggerating, but was a little too modest.

Liu Jilong is also very proud of this.

After all, he was a person of later generations. Although he came to the Tang Dynasty, he still tried his best to get closer to later generations.

Whether it was military discipline or the governance of people's livelihood, he strictly demanded of himself and his generals.

Over the past seven months, they have helped the people of Shandan solve many problems.

Repairing houses, digging gullies, building water wheels and dams, repairing rivers, leveling roads...

Although all these things were done one by one by Liu Jilian who mobilized the Shandan army and civilians, Liu Jilian did not let the people work in vain.

Before the autumn harvest, the wages for the people's work were seven dou of grain per month for the rich and five dou of grain per month for the poor.

After the autumn harvest, although the people had their own food and farmland, the government still forced them to work and distributed rations, and did not conscript them in the name of corvée labor.

Although the wages were reduced from seven dou per month to three dou per month, it was still a considerable extra income. Moreover, the work was beneficial to the people, and the people of Shandan were happy to work.

Now that the most difficult time has passed, the next step is to develop step by step. Once Shandan’s fiscal revenue is greater than its expenditure, we can send troops to the east.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong followed Zhang Huaishen into the yamen.

Zhang Huaishen walked to the main seat in the main hall and sat down. Liu Jilian sat in the second seat, while on the left and right below sat generals such as Li Yizhong and Chen Jingchong.

Cui Shu stood beside Liu Jilong, ready to answer Liu Jilong and Zhang Huaishen's questions at any time.

Looking at the well-organized Shandan County Yamen in front of him, Zhang Huaishen couldn't help but think of his own Ganzhou Yamen, which was full of intrigue, and couldn't help but sigh:

"To regard you as a good general is actually doing you an injustice."

Zhang Huaishen's words made Liu Jilong a little at a loss, and he said cautiously: "Governor, I'm doing a good job here..."

"Hmm?" Zhang Huaishen looked at Liu Jilong and saw that he was very cautious. After realizing what was going on, he immediately smiled and said:
"I just think you are good at governing, and I have no intention of transferring you."

"That's good..." Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and poured tea for Zhang Huaishen:

"Governor, this is Shandan's fried tea, please try it."

"Hmm," Zhang Huaishen responded, then picked up the teacup, took a look at the green tea, and drank it without hesitation.

He tasted it carefully and nodded in praise: "Although it is bitter, it tastes sweet and is very refreshing."

"I asked Cui Shu to pack 500 kilograms of it. When you return to Shandan, Governor, you can bring it back and share it with the other superiors."

Liu Jilong smiled and poured him tea. Zhang Huaishen nodded and looked at the layout of the main hall of the government office, then said:

"You have made great contributions to the East Strategy this time. I will record your achievements."

"Besides, since you have succeeded in your Eastern Strategy, I think you have a general understanding of Liangzhou's strength, right?"

Zhang Huaishen would naturally not come to Shandan simply to get something for free, after all, there were a lot of things in Zhangye that needed his attention.

His real purpose of coming to Shandan was to understand the situation in Liangzhou and prepare for future eastward advance.

Seeing him say this, Liu Jilong also told him about the situation of Fan He and Jia Lin, and speculated: "I estimate that there are at least 7,000 armored foreign soldiers in the five cities of Liangzhou, and the rest of the light soldiers are no less than 30,000."

"The Qiliben of Liangzhou is Shang Moling. Since he took office as the Qiliben of Liangzhou in the first year of Huichang, he has never participated in the struggle between Helong and Hehuang. On weekdays, he would at most expel the Umo people."

"Based on what I know about the cultivated land in Liangzhou, the total area is at least 500,000 mu."

"Since Liangzhou has not experienced any major wars in the past ten years, the amount of food stored must be considerable. Therefore, we can only attack the five cities in Liangzhou by force, and cannot lay siege."

After understanding the basic situation of Liangzhou, Liu Jilong also roughly understood why Zhang Huaishen fought in Liangzhou for so many years in history.

The reason why the divided Liangzhou could hold out for so many years was mainly due to the large number of foreign people in the territory and the food and fodder stored for many years.

These two items added together can be said to have brought together both the advantage of location and the harmony of people, and the weather is not the most important thing for the defenders.

The fact that he was able to capture Liangzhou with a smaller force despite having no favorable timing, location, or people was enough to demonstrate Zhang Huaishen's level.

"You have a point, but with the current strength of Liangzhou's troops, it would be extremely difficult to recapture it by force..."

Zhang Huai responded to Liu Jilong's information in a deep voice, and Liu Jilong nodded and said:

"Our army is weak. If we want to start a war, we need at least 5,000 soldiers, and the number of civilians we need to mobilize must not be less than 20,000."

"Twenty-five thousand people would need more than two thousand dan of food rations per month. If we include the draft horses and oxen that pull the carts, it would be at least more than one thousand dan of bean fodder."

"If we can't win the war quickly, we will consume even more food later. I'm afraid Ganzhou alone can't provide that much food."

"So my opinion is to open up as much wasteland as possible in Shandan and transport grain to Shandan for storage two years in advance."

"In addition, in terms of military affairs, we will lead our elite cavalry to invade Liang Province and try to weaken their light troops and armored soldiers as much as possible."

"If we can eliminate them in the wild, it will save us a lot of trouble when attacking the city."

“The previous times our army recaptured the five states, it was mainly due to the good cooperation between the military and civilians inside and outside the city.”

"Now the barbarians in the five cities of Liangzhou are strong and the Han people are weak. Even if the Han people in the city want to kill the enemy, they are no match for the barbarians around them."

"Only by reducing the number of the Fan people as much as possible can we create opportunities for the Han people."

After finishing his long speech, Liu Jilong took a breath and waited quietly for Zhang Huaishen to reply.

Zhang Huai thought deeply for a moment, then raised his head belatedly and said with a strange look on his face: "You have been talking for a long time, but you just want me to keep the Shanzhou Han people here with you and bring more food over."

"Uh..." Liu Jilong was a little embarrassed, but still explained:
"It takes 340 li to get from Zhangye to the nearest Fanhe City, while it only takes 200 li to get from Shandan to Fanhe City."

"On ordinary days, this 140 miles may not seem like a big deal, but if the war gets serious, this 140 miles will take the civilians three or four days to walk."

"Not to mention the three or four days' journey, the amount of food consumed by the laborers during these three or four days is not a small amount."

"So...actually...uh...Shandan is the best choice."

Liu Jilong's words were factual, and Zhang Huaishen knew it, but he always felt that Liu Jilong was plotting against him.

But compared to his own failure, he cared more about whether he could recover Liangzhou and open up the Hexi Corridor.

"That's all..."

Zhang Huaishen stood up and told Cui Shu, "Find me a yard to rest."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Liu Jilong again and said, "I will take the 10,000 sheep as agreed, but I will leave the horses and the people of Shanzhou to you."

"After the autumn harvest this year, if every state has a good harvest, I will have people transport grain here."

"Thank you..." Liu Jilong was overjoyed, but before he could express his gratitude, Zhang Huaishen interrupted him:
"Don't be so quick to thank me. I have requests too."

"Please speak, Governor." Liu Jilian bowed and was very obedient.

Zhang Huaishen glanced at him, and finally said: "By this time next year, if the cultivated land and herds in Shandan have not increased, you will be punished by walking to Zhangye on foot!"

After saying this, Zhang Huaishen walked out, Cui Shu hurriedly followed to lead the way, while Liu Jilong bowed and thanked him loudly.

"I will definitely fulfill your mission!!"

(End of this chapter)