The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 128 Luomenchuan

On May 29th of the second year of Jingfu, after being persuaded by Wei Bo and sensing the dangerous atmosphere of Zhu Wen's need to vent his murderous desire, and emboldened by the rising court, Chengde, Henghai and Zibo decided to rebuild the Heshuo Alliance with Wei Bo, who took the lead, to resist foreign aggression - no matter whether it was Zhu Wen, Li Keyong or anyone else.

Tian Xide, the governor of Weizhou, issued a manifesto to fight against the rebels, saying that he was "obeying the secret imperial edict to fight against Zhu Quanzhong". At the same time, he forged a false imperial edict, and appointed himself as the commander-in-chief of all the camps. Wang Shifan was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the eastern camp, and Lu Yanwei as the commander-in-chief of the northern camp. They also wrote letters to Xiang and Wu, but the journey was too long, and they had not received replies from Zhao and Yang. However, Weizhou did not care, and first pulled the other side onto the warship in the manifesto.

The Six Garrisons announced that they would send out a million troops to resist the invasion of Bian.

Anyway, the momentum is sufficient.

When the news came out, naturally the whole world was concerned.

The other spectators had never expected that in just two or three years, the domestic situation would have changed so much. Li, it seems that it is not time for a revolution yet. The anti-corruption group in Hebei, which made the four emperors Dai, De, Xian, and Mu miserable, has now become the vanguard of the anti-Bian movement? It is really because the imperial court is weak and the feudal lords are separatist. And the imperial court has been in decline for a long time, and it is the independent princes who are the mainstay.

……

The sky is setting at dusk with a waning moon, and willows are swaying outside Xiangwu City at dusk.

Shigan Temple is a wooden pavilion-style pagoda-shaped Buddhist building with a strong Tibetan style. The hollow stupa, the dark and gloomy demon-suppressing courtyard, and the Bodhisattva building carved with precious lotus. The outer stone walls are hung with colorful banners and small wind horse flags with scriptures written on them praying for the protection of the gods. The evening breeze makes a rustling sound. From a distance, the whole temple with its golden roof, red walls, yellow beams, and white walls is full of an inexplicable sense of mystery, solemnity, and a bit of evil.

By the stream north of the temple, several naked slaves were kneeling in front of a stone fortress.

The crackling bonfire illuminated the pale, swollen faces. Everyone was shaking and sobbing. The youngest girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and her wet crotch was filled with the pungent smell of urine. From the moment she was brought here to kneel, she knew her fate. Because her parents and ancestors were also made like this.

"Ah...ni..." The obscure Sanskrit words stopped abruptly. The red-robed monk wearing a yellow pointed hat stopped jumping and turned around.

The slaves all shuddered. The monk's front and back were shocked. His back was a kind and enlightened monk, but his face was a disgusting bald head covered with pustules, black scars, and large pores; the rotten sore on his neck next to his left chin was oozing green-gray mucus.

The monk squeezed it hard twice with his fingernails.

When he felt pain, he grimaced, revealing his rusty and saliva-stained yellow teeth.

"Huh..." After squeezing the sore, he wiped his hands on his clothes, spitted twice... and waved his sleeves! Like a golden eagle swooping down on a hare, the monk pressed his palm on the top of the little girl's head and rubbed it twice, exerting force... With one hand, he lifted the struggling girl to the same height as his eyes. Before the poor slave could shout "Father and Mother", she was pressed on the wooden block in an instant. The monk pulled out the knife and stabbed it vertically into her throat.

As the childish cries died down, the monk cut off his knuckles one by one. Blood foam splashed into his eyes, but he remained unmoved, and with an extremely excited expression, he recited some strange words in a certain rhythm.

After a long while, he sighed and murmured softly: "Buddha..."

I never expected that the Tang people would fight back.

Their emperor was determined to restore the old order, and had marched out of Dazhen Pass a few days ago. From Yangong to Tianshui, from Qingyuan to Longcheng, from Jieting to Yebao, there were Tang people everywhere. There were also convoys transporting food, grass, and weapons, almost filling up the three intersections of Lueyang, Anrong, and Weishui... It was simply horrifying. Taking advantage of the danger of the great barbarians? The treacherous Tang Tong who destroyed the Changqing Alliance should be punished by God. Just as I was worried, I suddenly felt a pain in my heart.

Damn, some slaves are rebelling... But where do the slaves get the bows and arrows... The monk lying on the ground glanced at the small hill under the waning moon with his peripheral vision - sure enough, it was the Tang people, and they were still smiling at him.

"Just one survivor." Mr. Cui put down his bow.

The three remaining monks at the stone fortress ran towards the temple, but two of them were knocked down by dozens of sharp arrows. The remaining one was deliberately shot in the thigh. Just as he was about to limp away, two sturdy warriors rushed forward and punched him three times in the nose, causing blood to gush out of his nose.

"I have a few questions. If you answer them well, I will let you go back to burn incense." Mr. Cui hit the monk's face with the blade of the knife.

The man nodded quickly, but he was in despair. The Tang people had not left Qinzhou for 150 years, but he didn't expect to run into them today... This is the land of the Dafan people, there is no grudge or hatred, why did the Tang people invade?
"Who is the commander of Xiangwu City? What is his origin?"

"Sang Baobao, the envoy of Luomenchuan, is from the Dangxiang and Ning tribes of the six states."

"Fuck you!" Unexpectedly, Cui Gong slapped her twice, and Yuanyuan glared at her with old eyes: "Is there anyone named Sang in the Hening tribe? Do you think I know nothing about you?"

"Miscellaneous barbarians! Miscellaneous barbarians who are affiliated with the Hening tribe!" The monk quickly changed his words and said, "I am not familiar with them and don't know them very well."

"Ah——" He screamed as one of his ears was cut off by Cui Gong. Cui Gong sucked a mouthful of blood and said with a smile: "A fat monk with big ears must taste good." He patted the monk's face, which was sweating from the pain, and said frivolously: "Think about it first. If you make me unhappy, I will dig out your eyes."

The monk shed tears.

"How many people does Sang Baobao have?"

"Three thousand. If we recruit slaves, we can get up to twenty thousand." This time, the monk said in rapid succession, "The commander of the neighboring Longxi City is Shang Yanxin's old subordinate, the Mijiazu. He has no less than seven thousand men and is the most powerful commander in Weizhou."

"Wan Hu Ling?" Mr. Cui asked.

"No, after Shang Yanxin's son Shang Keluo was killed by his subordinate Yelitjian in Fuqiang City, Mijiazu appointed himself as the envoy of the Dafan tribe and the governor of Weizhou."

"Who obeys his orders?"

"No one obeyed. Each city in Hewei set up its own faction and invaded each other."

"Are all the 7,000 soldiers under Miga's command cavalry? Where is he now? In Longxi City?"

"There are both infantry and cavalry. I don't know where they are, but yesterday I heard from a monk who came to the city to buy goods that many soldiers have come to the city. It must be him."

“Can you finish what you want to say at once?” Mr. Cui cut off his other ear and pretended to dig out his eyeball.

"There was talk in the temple that the Tang emperor had fought back. Sang Baobao was afraid, so he invited the Mijia soldiers to come and help defend Xiangwu City. The Mijia soldiers felt that they were too few, so they ordered the conscription of Qianfeng, Hue, Baoshan, Ningding, Luoyun, and Chaofeng tribes."

Mr. Cui smiled and stuffed the ears into his hands.

The situation was not much different from what he knew. The so-called Qianfeng tribes were also Dangxiang. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Tubo conquered the Xueshan Dangxiang Pochou clan and the Baigou, Chongsang, and Bailang Qiang. After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Tubo quickly invaded the east, and the Lingyan Dangxiang such as the Tuoba clan were withdrawn to Xiasui by the court. The people in the Jinglong area were enclosed and settled in Fengxiang by Emperor Daizong, which were Qianfeng and other eleven tribes. Afterwards, they also became vassals of Tubo.

It's a mess anyway.

In addition to these eleven Tangut tribes, there are also the Yeliyueshi, Yelilonger, Yelijuelü, Erhuang, Yehai, and Yetu tribes. They have been moving around for two hundred years, being conquered by the Tang people today and driven by the Tubo tomorrow. They have been so chaotic that they probably don’t even know their origins. The court couldn’t figure it out, so they all called them miscellaneous Hu. The Tubo people were troubled and called them all Mi Yao.

It doesn't matter. Anyone who dares to resist, no matter who they are, shall die!

Cui Gong wiped the blood off his hands and asked his son Cui Yi to continue to interrogate him and dig as thoroughly as possible. He walked to the side and instructed a warrior who was watching: "Lead a team of knights back to Luomenchuan and say that Longxi and Xiangwu counties were turned into military cities by the Tibetans. The two commanders of Mijiazu and Sangbaobao have a total of 10,000 soldiers to defend Xiangwu City, and are also recruiting miscellaneous Hu people to fight for their lives. Let the saint send troops to raid the surrounding tribes and capture 20,000 to 30,000 old and weak people and bring them to the city tomorrow."

Arresting people? If you don't hold their family members hostage, why are you arresting people?

His family is outside the city, and he wants to see how many fools are brave enough to kill their relatives for the sake of justice.

The warrior took the order and left, and Mr. Cui came back.

"Are you done asking?" he asked his son.

"It's over. There's nothing left to be squeezed out."

"Then why are you still standing there?" Mr. Cui scolded his son twice.

Cui Yi swung his sword and chopped it down directly.

"Old General, you——"

"I'm an old liar." Cui Gong laughed loudly, kicked the corpse away, and waved his hand, saying: "Go, capture all the monks in Shigan Temple... um... bury them alive on the spot!"

The warriors gasped.

"My lord...you are old and should not commit so many murders," Cui Yi tried to persuade his father.

"Killing these bald donkeys is called accumulating virtue." Mr. Cui's voice became lower.

He walked to the side of the stone pile and picked up the little girl.

She was still breathing, but clearly dead.

The silver dagger pierced the right side of her throat and nailed her head firmly to the wooden block.

When Cui Gong held her in his arms, her bare ten fingers gently hugged Cui Gong. A big hand covered with calloused cuts, cracked like an eagle's claw, and a small palm like bamboo shoots after rain, slowly touched each other.

Black and white.

Her faint breathing gradually died away in Cui Gong's arms.

This place was once ruled by the Qin, Han, Wei and Tang dynasties, and has been occupied by Tubo for generations. Millions of people in the past have become lowly slaves, driven and abused by the nobles. Those men and women who used to be proud of being Tang people are now forced to shave their heads, change their clothes, walk with bent backs, and talk on their knees.

On the 30th, the emperor officially entered the Longxi area at Luomenchuan.

At the same time, Zhang Jun, the governor of Jingyuan, responded to the imperial edict. Due to illness, he ordered his younger brother Fan to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry out of Pingliang Road, along the three lines of Huining, Jingning, and Jiangtaibao to Weizhou and spy on Jincheng. The Jing army was small in number and in a different position, so it was not for attacking. Their role was to create tension and scare the enemy. If they encountered small stockades and military cities, they would capture them. They played a diversionary role, attracted some firepower, and cooperated with the main battle of the saint in the south.

In addition, upon learning that the saint was coming, Qin Fengwei Fu Daozhao and his two thousand Qi bandit remnants were very uneasy. They wanted to flee westward and join Tubo, but they felt ashamed. They wanted to flee northward... After calming down and thinking about it, Fu Daozhao felt that if the thief emperor really wanted to kill him, he would have come to suppress him long ago. The reason why he didn't do so and appointed himself as a county lieutenant was that he wanted to be accepted as a dog or a scapegoat for consuming the Tubo people...

So he asked the prefect Wei Zhaodu for permission to defeat the captives in order to redeem himself.

Promise it.

The Fu thief was so shrewd that the saint was considering whether to continue to employ him. This guy was a pure Cai bandit. A few years ago, he was a mule cavalry trainer under Qin Zongquan, responsible for training how to charge on mules. When Zhu Wen conquered Huaixi, the Cai bandits were scattered.

A part of them was incorporated by Zhu Wen.

Some of them followed Sun Ru to the south to fight against Gao Pian.

One part of them established their own regime in Xiangyang and supported Zhao Kuangning and his son.

There are also small groups of people whose whereabouts are unknown. Fu Daozhao belongs to this category. He first fled to Yangzhou to live a lazy life, and later saw that Li Maozhen was a good person, so he switched to him. After the "King of Qi" suffered a setback in Chang'an, he immediately rebelled with another adopted son of Li Maozhen. The main force of the Qi people was annihilated in Mibei Ze, and he gathered 3,000 soldiers to rebel and leave Qinzhou...

When the Northern Song Dynasty was established, Zhao Kuangyin and historian Li Jiuling and others summarized the military men of the late Tang and Five Dynasties, and Fu Daozhao was criticized by name - "rigid but without moral integrity." This kind of person will rebel overnight if you feel a little weak.

After some consideration, the saint decided to let him be the scapegoat. Fu Cunshen was also a warrior who had worked for the devil, and he was from the same family, so why was he known for his loyalty and integrity? To curb the social habit of treating rebellion as a joke, we must eliminate this kind of black sheep as much as possible.

If he had died in time in the great cause of recovering Longxi and sacrificed his life for the country, Fu Zei's reputation would surely have been saved.

Baby, don't blame me... I'm doing this for your posthumous reputation.

The small bamboo raft was floating in the painting, with the indigo and emerald water flowing on both sides. The sun was shining brightly, and the saint was in a very good mood as he walked on the lush river valley and stepped on the soft grass under his feet.

This land of natural treasures was wasted by the Tibetans and the barbarians who were as stupid as primitive people. It was a waste of natural resources. Qinzhou and the lower Mayizhou, except for a few mountains such as Bagua Mountain and Huoyan Mountain, were almost all flat river valleys within a radius of 100 miles. Can you imagine?

And it is undeveloped virgin land!
Water conservancy is also excellent. Dozens of rivers, big and small, such as Weishui, Luomenshui, Lueyangshui, Fengshui, etc., run through the territory... If this is built into fields, how much grain, fruit, and vegetables can be produced in a year? The saints will cry to death.

However, I remember the research of the later phenologist Zhu Kezhen - in the late Tang Dynasty, the climate in East Asia was at the transition point from the humid period to the cold period. Crops that require high rainfall and heat, such as rice, certainly cannot be planted in Longxi. It is not impossible, but the risk is high and it is easy to be affected by disasters.

After returning, the saint planned to discuss with Li Qun and others to see what crops would bring the greatest returns, or to plant a little of each crop and experiment for a year.

Food security is a primary issue.

Now that they have fallen out with Zhu Wen, even if the southeastern states continue to pay tribute, the cost of using the Xiangyang, Tangdeng, and Danfeng waterways is too high, and they must get rid of the influence as soon as possible and become self-reliant. As long as the warriors have enough food to eat and have food to replace other financial rewards, they can continue to operate. That is to say, the ten years of bloody battles in Guannei have led to a great decline in population, otherwise Zhu Wen would not have come to claim his life, and he would have collapsed after playing for two years.

As for the Wei and He rivers to the west and the Tao and Min rivers to the south, there are many hills there, so use them to raise horses. Part of the plains that can be turned into fields should also be converted into fields, and continue to recruit people to cultivate them.

It’s not that Hewei lacks people.

In recent years, the Central Plains has been in chaos, but Guanxi has been peaceful. Since Shang Yanxin surrendered, the biggest event was probably the killing of Yanxin's son Wu Luo by his subordinate Ye Li Te Jian a few years ago, and Te Jian appointed himself as the envoy of the expedition. Not long after, Zhao Fu, the eldest brother-in-law, took advantage of Te Jian's absence to hunt and led his troops to kill him, and appointed himself as the commander of the town. Later, Li Maozhen sent troops to invade the west, but was defeated by Zhao Fu.

In other words, with few wars, a large number of indigenous Hu people, and population mobility caused by the uprising of serfs in Tubo, there is no reason why the population of Hewei would not grow. But can you expect them to farm? Yes, like the Feng and Xia states in the north, some Hu people learned from the Han people, with men farming and women weaving, but they were a minority.

Moreover, with their technology, they can't even figure out the 24 solar terms... probably the real "livelihood depends on the weather". The Pingxia tribes have been in China for a hundred years, and there are still a lot of fools who are stupid about herding sheep, regardless of the river and the Wei River.

We also need to recruit some old Han farmers to develop agriculture.

If you have food in your hands, you will not have to worry.

That night, the saint camped on the east bank of Luomen River. Zhao Ruxin's cousin Zhao Chong led 5,000 people from Fuqiang City to meet him. In addition to 2,000 family members, there were 3,000 Qiang people from Chuzhongshan, Pochou, Baigou, Chaofeng, etc. Well, it's not necessarily accurate. The locals called it that. In fact, these people probably didn't know who they were...

Some have white skin.

Has blonde hair.

There are also a few eye-catching ones that look like black men, I don’t know if it’s because they have been exposed to the sun for too long or what.

"Zhao Chong? - Tsk tsk, your troops are a bit festive. They are wearing colorful clothes and armor, and their hairstyles and languages are different, but their ranks and appearance are strict... It's really strange. It must have taken a lot of effort to train the soldiers." The saint is now an old hand. He only took a glance and found the abnormality of this group of people.

Damn it, is the Zhao family so powerful? They took advantage of the chaos to raise a team of 5,000 to 6,000 people. Counting the 700 infantry and cavalry brought by my brother-in-law, they are not inferior to the Yang and Zhe families in Linzhou.

But it’s still “normal”.

In later times, when there was chaos in Shu, powerful landlords recruited soldiers to protect themselves. For example, several families such as the He family in Mianzhou had more than 10,000 soldiers. Fujian, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Chu were similar. During the Qianfu period, taking advantage of Huang Chao's disturbance in Lingnan, Chen Yan of Fuzhou gathered thousands of people and called himself the Kowloon Army. Within a few years, the governor was driven out...

Compared to these, the concubine's family is relatively conservative.

"After a few years of rough training, they have become a mob and are not a good sight to behold," Zhao Chong replied.

"Why are you being so modest?" The saint walked around in front of the battle array and said, "The methods of training soldiers are there, but there are not many people who have the patience and effort to train warriors. The warriors have a majestic appearance and strict discipline. They are a powerful force. Can they be given a military horn?"

"How can we do such an act of usurpation and disloyalty?"

Usurpation... Recruiting thousands of soldiers and occupying a few cities is not usurpation? Well, since he is Ruxin's cousin, the two siblings have the same father, and now they are all family. After observing carefully for a while, the sage said: "I see that most of them are wearing red clothes, so how about calling them the Red Clothes School? Let's use them for now. Otherwise, when the war breaks out, I won't know what to call these soldiers."

Hiss… Zhao Chong glanced at his brother-in-law. He knew a lot about Chang'an from the letters of Zhao Fu and Zhao Jia. This was to be incorporated into the Tiance Army's foreign army… But there was no room for refusal. Ruxin was his Lady of Tianshui County and the Privy Councilor, and had already given birth to a prince. Fu and Jia also held important positions. The Zhao family was already tied to him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for bestowing the military title. How dare the Red Army not serve until death?" Zhao Chong bowed down.

"It is impossible to give rewards while you are on the battlefield, so just remember this. When you return, each of you will be given two pieces of silk. If you can make achievements this time, you will be rewarded according to the regulations." He won over the hearts of the people and, unsurprisingly, aroused cheers.

"I have been in Long for four days, and no one has come to see me. They are so rebellious. I want to leave tomorrow morning. Tell me about the enemy situation." If the Tibetan nephew is shameless, then don't blame his Tang uncle for beating him up for being disobedient.

Zhao Chong spread out the detailed map he had drawn and said, "After passing Luomenchuan, you will reach Longxi and Xiangwu, which are under the jurisdiction of the important towns of Weizhou. Before the An-Shi Rebellion, it was a county of the imperial court. After it was taken over by Tubo, it was used as a frontier for the eastward invasion of Guanzhong, so all the people were relocated and the city was converted into a military city. Thus, the stone fortress city of Luomenchuan and the two military cities of Longxi and Xiangwu formed the three fortresses of Weizhou, supporting each other."

The dozen stone forts in Luomenchuan were built by Lunrekong. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, this Tibetan rebel wanted to invade the Tang Dynasty and stationed 200,000 people here. But it is obvious that the Tibetans were timid and did not dare to send people to guard the forts, so they just hid in Longxi and Xiangwu.

"It's easy to take Weizhou. Just take these two cities." Zhao Chong said with a smile.

The saint's face turned black. Brother-in-law, you don't understand the arrogance of the Central Plains warriors. When attacking a city... if they lose a lot of lives or get injured before they even touch anyone, they will make a fuss. If they have a bad temper, they will rush in and kill the generals if the battle fails. What do you think?

The first battle of the Western Expedition was against something like this. How unlucky.

If you have the guts, let’s have a wild fight. Let’s set up a battle array in Luomenchuan.

"His Majesty?"

"Let me think about it again," the saint said cautiously.

Are we going to attack Dali again and let our good friends in the evil army lead the charge?

Alas, let the evil people suffer a little more and I will bear the blame.

　I won't be a eunuch, I won't be a eunuch, don't doubt it. The update is normal. I only took three days off in a month, which is very little. I originally planned to use the weekend double-day off system to update.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)