The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 199: Bo Hezhong (Part )
Cangshan is like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood.

On the winding foothills of Wenxi Mountain, a mass of war horses appeared at Shenbai Ridge. The knights on horseback looked down at the flat river plain, each with evil eyes, staring intently at everything in front of them.

Jiangzhou is not well-known in history books, but its other name is Pingyang. It is also the top place name for princesses, without a doubt.

The following people have been granted this title: the eldest daughter of Emperor Jing and Empress Wang Zhi, the elder sister of Emperor Liu Che. The daughter of Liu Shi and Concubine Wei, the elder sister of Emperor Ping. The daughter of Liu Zhuang and Concubine Jia, the elder sister of Emperor Zhang. The eldest daughter of Sima Yan and Empress Yang Yan, the elder sister of Emperor Hui. The sister of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The sister of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and Lady Li, the Valkyrie of the Tang Dynasty.

In addition, "Pingyang" is the most superstitious and abused administrative place name.

From the pre-Qin Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, the State of Lu built Pingyang in Mount Tai. The State of Wei built Pingyang in present-day Huazhou. The State of Zhao built Pingyang outside Handan. The State of Qin built Pingyang in Youneishi. The Han Dynasty established Pingyang, Dongpingyang, and Nanpingyang. Cao Wei built Pingyang in Hanzhong County. The Western Jin Dynasty... The place name Pingyang is spread throughout Henan, Hebei, Hedong, Henei, Yong, Jing, Yang, Zhejiang, Ling, and Qi. It seems that building a Pingyang city somewhere and changing a county to Pingyang can make some kind of hope become a reality.

I won’t talk about the fake Pingyang.

Jiangzhou, the real Pingyang, had 8.2 households in Kaiyuan and hundreds of thousands of people, which was the largest state in the country. There were 1.1 households in Yuanhe. After a hundred years of overall peace, before the Chaos Rebellion, the population was comparable to that of the Tianbao era. After the Chaos Rebellion, the beastly soldiers of Li, Ru and other tribes slaughtered and ate them all year round, and only one in ten people survived. After a few years of rest, Zhu Wen ravaged the area again last year, and to people were taken away to fill the trenches.

After all these changes, Jiangzhou is not rich, but it has a solid foundation. The descendants of wealthy families such as Prime Minister Village, Xue family in Wanquan County, Liu family in Anyi, Feng family in Yixiang, and Wang family in Langya continue to farm and study here. Tribute-level fruits. Rich fish, salt, water systems, wetland forests. Developed mining, metal smelting, forging of weapons and farm tools, and breeding of medicinal materials. Tens of thousands of farmers have been away from the land for many years to engage in handicrafts, which has led to a sufficient number of handicraft talents. Brave and good at fighting but low-key, the soldiers have only mutinied once since the establishment of the town... Although all these have suffered many disasters, as long as the state and county are not wiped out, the wounds will always be healed.

Li Renmei tied the rope and silently admired it with a dozen trusted generals. He admired the streams where egrets soared and seagulls gathered, the rural shepherds walking on the ridges, the lakes and ponds where the floating light danced and the fishermen sang and answered each other's songs, and the women playing among the lotus leaves. He admired the Jiang people who were still tenacious and alive after suffering hardships, and the scenery of the Central Plains that was completely different from the frontier, the desert, the north of the mountains, and Guanlong.

Qi Yanshu raised his nose deeply: "...August...in Beihai, Yanran, I'm afraid the sudden heavy snow has frozen the old horse without a shed! The thief killed the Buddha, we are in the white mountains and black waters, the sandy Gobi, stealing chickens and dogs for food, the strong and the weak bully each other. The Han people are born in such a good place, but they still fight all day long. No wonder the men of the Zubu, Meiliji, Shubugu, and Mongolian tribes like to go south to work for Li Keyong. Fortunately, I have also surrendered to the emperor now. If the knife is sharp enough and I kill enough thieves, the emperor will not chase me away, right?"

Others couldn't help but agree: "You've wrongly blamed Lord Wumu! Black Water City, Baiting Sea, Shandan Mountain, they are nothing like the human world. Thinking about the cities and towns I saw along the way, I'm intoxicated. It's right to serve the king! Otherwise, we'll be like those Tangut barbarians, fighting over two kilograms of wheat?"

"It is said that the people of Bian, Song, Chen, and Zheng under the rule of Zhu Zemin are a hundred times happier here. What will it be like there? If a Tartar with no vision like me goes there, won't I want to leave?"

"Fight! Fight until Bianzhou is razed to the ground! The Crown Prince defeated Shi Chaoyi's 100,000 Yan bandits at Zhaojue Temple. Lord Wumu and I will tear Zhu Wen's bones apart to make a fire."

"Call me the King of Jiujiang. The title of Lord Wumu is illegal. Don't call me that anymore."

"Don't forget Adalu. If it weren't for the Prime Minister's foresight and insistence on helping to fight... Hey! We must hang the heads of Bian bandits on everyone's horse's belly to please the emperor and give us a piece of land in the interior."

When they talked about the beautiful things, they almost cheered, occasionally laughed out loud, clapped their hands and hummed Uighur minor songs, and the horses under their crotches seemed to be infected, stamping their hooves and shaking their heads and neighing restlessly. The mountain wind swept past, rolling up the thick manes on the horses' necks. Under the hills behind them, knights from the Guardian of the Holy, Long Live, and Golden Sword armies continued to pour out from the valley entrances and the bends of the post roads. The destination was Fuze, Huaizhou, and Xiaopingjin. Along the way, they searched and killed Bian thieves and messengers, attacked the grain and horse teams, and tried to cut off the traffic between Pu and Bian.

"Alright!" Li Renmei raised his hand and said, "Be more restrained. Don't let people think that the Uighurs are rude and disrespectful, similar to the barbarians."

Everyone suppressed their emotions a little.

Li Renmei rode his horse down the pond.

Not far away, a temporary felt tent was erected. A circle of tung oil torches were inserted on the simple wall made of wooden stakes. The evening breeze made the flames distorted.

The royal guards sat on the ground, took off their armor and sat on their buttocks, but kept their leather armor and helmets on, with their swords and spears placed vertically against their legs. Then, dozens of people gathered around a blazing bonfire to make tea, heat meals, and roast their feet. In the light of the fire, they looked like fat giant monsters in the twilight.

Dense groups of camels and war horses were scattered around, standing or lying, lazily chewing food and drinking water.

More than a hundred cavalrymen were wandering around, keeping watch.

This posture is enough to scare an amateur. If Li Sheng were here, he would probably start scolding. Fool, your opponent is the cunning Bian people, not a fight on the grassland! The most basic thing is to set up a decent camp. Is it very laborious? Being beaten up by the border vassal towns, often even running away with shoes, there is a reason.

Are the Khitan, Jurchen and Jiannu also like this?

I was speechless.

Li Renmeigang, Qi Yanshu, Sun Dezhao, Duoli, Li Renqi, Mengmengzi, Hu Suoyue and a group of people sat down and prepared to barbecue.

"Xu!" Suddenly a sharp cry of a golden eagle was heard.

The soldiers immediately stopped what they were doing, tensed their bodies and looked around. Li Renmei observed for a while, and then a guard officer on the bank came over on horseback and pressed his hand from a distance: "Wang Wuyou, this is Zhao's recruiting envoy."

Most of the soldiers shrugged and relaxed again, but hundreds of them stood up, trotted to their mounts, stood by their saddles, and prepared for any eventuality.

After a while, dozens of riders were seen galloping towards them in the evening breeze and twilight. It was Zhao Fu, the Eastern Recruiting Envoy.

Everyone in the group was sweating and looked very busy.

As soon as they saw Li Renmei's troops, they started to laugh among themselves. The more arrogant ones even pointed at Li Renmei, Qi Yanshu and others, shook their heads and cursed them.

"Zhang Cunjing is famous for his cunning schemes. Aren't you afraid that he will suddenly attack and capture all of you and sell you as servants of Silla or slaves of Kunlun?"

"Habits are frivolous, and he doesn't look like a master of the classics."

"Oh my god, they're still boiling milk. They're enjoying it more than a saint."

"..."

But Li Renmei had such a broad mind that he turned a blind eye to the sarcasm and walked towards Zhao Fu without looking away. He reached out his hand and greeted him from a distance: "Mr. Zhao! The milk is boiling, and I'm grabbing a slice of noodles."

"I appreciate the kindness of the King of Jiujiang." Zhao Fu did not have the arrogance of ordinary warriors and nobles. Based on the principle of not causing trouble for his sister and nephew, the King of Liang, he became more and more reserved and steady. He crossed his hands and returned the greeting, then took Li Renmei aside and said gently, "Where is the vanguard scout? Is there any response?"

"Uh..." Mainly because he was not familiar with the Central Plains, Li Renmei recalled for a while and said, "In the morning, the letter came that the vanguard Obudai's 1,000 cavalry had passed Wang and Wangwu Mountains. They saw the baggage train of the Bian bandits, escorted by many state soldiers. Obudai was not sure of their strength and did not dare to act rashly. In addition, there was no sign of a large number of reinforcements from the Bian bandits. By the way, the Bian bandits set up a warehouse for transiting materials on the north bank of Xiaopingjin. There were three town commanders, named Shi Yanhong, Li Duo, and Chen Lingxun. The garrison, uh... Obudai roughly estimated that there were no less than 5,000 soldiers. The army was extremely strict. They were all flower soldiers, all wearing red armor, and they entered and exited silently. The flag they flew was Chang..."

"Long sword?"

"No."

"Long straight?"

"Forehead…"

"Changxing?"

"Mr. Zhao, I...I'll take a look at the letter later." Li Renmei forced a smile and said awkwardly.

"It's okay." Zhao Fu nodded without saying anything. He just took out a map like a magician and spread it under his feet. He squatted down and put his hand on it to examine it carefully.

Zhu Wen had obviously learned of the situation by adding guards to the civilians transporting the baggage. Does Zhu Wen's actions mean that this person will not come west for a while and still insist on destroying Qi? Wang Shifan was in danger.

The escorting provincial soldiers were able to stop the thousand elite cavalrymen of the Obudai from taking action. Most of them were elite provincial soldiers drawn from Zheng, Song, and Cao. This was consistent with the news mentioned by my brother-in-law that the nephew of Zhu Ze, Yuan Xiangxian and Ding Hui, who were the trainers of both internal and external cavalry and infantry, were constantly training troops in various places.

Only one warehouse was seen in Xiaopingjin in the middle of the river... If no more warehouses are seen in a few days, the logistics of Zhang Cunjing and Zhu Yougong's camps will be mainly supplied by water. The plan to harass the grain route must be adjusted in advance.

Xiaopingjin Town General Shi Yanhong.

The bandit's military inspector stationed in Luoyang is called Shi Yanci, the elder brother of Zhu Wen's concubine Shi. Judging from the name, Shi Yanhong should be another brother of Shi and Shi Yanci. Brother or cousin? Can his loyalty to Zhu Wen withstand the test of life and death? After being captured in Juyangchuan, Zhang Xian, the younger brother of the pseudo-Liang Empress Zhang Hui, immediately listed Zhu's rebellious deeds, even ignoring his sister. Now he has been appointed as the commander of the formation, and is serving under Zhao Fu. By extension, Zhao Fu can't help but use the filter of Zhang Xian to guess Shi Yanhong.

Li Duo.

If I remember correctly, he was originally a subordinate of Li Hanzhi. After Li Hanzhi fell, Zhu Wen and Li Keyong both recruited a group of people. Most of the people recruited by Li Keyong were normal, such as Fu Cunshen. The people recruited by Zhu were generally evil, such as Yang Shihou who was shot dead in Tongguan, and the current Li Duo.

The fact that he was sent to Xiaopingjin as a garrison commander shows that he has gained Zhu Ze's trust and is quite capable.

Chen Lingxun was beaten by his brother-in-law in Juyangchuan and had to flee in his donkey cart. If he was defeated again, his life would be in danger.

These three people should attack Chen Lingxun fiercely and force him to rebel. Li Duo and Shi Yanhong should first exchange a few moves to understand each other's personalities and military styles.

Make a move to cross the river and quickly capture Xiaopingjin! Force Heyang and Luoyang to come to the rescue, and use the advantages of the cavalry's flexibility, tens of thousands of cavalry, and fast speed to attack them halfway. If they don't come to rescue, and give up the land route for food, then it depends on how long Zhang Cunjing's food reserves can last, and how much of the food transported by water can be delivered to Jiangzhou.

That’s the idea.

Before the winter solstice, do your best to ensure that Zhang Cunjing dies without a burial place.

Zhao Fu put away the map, took out a roll of silk and handed it to Li Renmei. Li Renmei looked down, while Zhao Fu said to himself: "I have heard for a long time that the King of Jiujiang is a great general. But after observing his deployment, I found that it is slightly inconsistent with the sentiments of the mainland. This is my superficial experience of many years of military management."

"Unless it is an urgent battle, for the sake of the soldiers' physical strength, the march will not exceed thirty miles a day. In the afternoon, we will look for a suitable place to set up camp."

“Unless the enemy is in a desperate battle, there should be no crying, wailing, laughing, or sad songs in the army.”

"From officers to sergeants, those who dislike or have grudges against each other should not be allowed to work together."

"At night, fires must be extinguished. Anyone who lights a fire or candle without permission will be killed."

"After the camp was set up, soldiers went out to scout, trade, or cut wood in teams of several people. They were given a badge with their military status, position, and name recorded for inspection. Anyone who entered the camp gate without permission would be put to death."

"..."

"Soldiers are not allowed to gather and talk in groups."

Hearing this, Li Renmei frowned slightly: "Why?"

"It concerns the lives of the generals." Zhao Fu replied vaguely. He took Li Renmei's identity into consideration and didn't want to say some things too bluntly.

so serious?

Li Renmei looked at Zhao Fu suspiciously, somewhat unconvinced. He had heard that Chinese soldiers liked to rebel, but it was probably not so serious that they would not allow soldiers to gather and talk in groups. However, seeing Zhao Fu's serious expression, he could only nod his head repeatedly and said with a smile: "Okay! Okay, I have learned that my military law in the Uighurs is still too superficial."

Nephew, you are too naive... If you were in my position, would you be able to survive for more than three years...

"In that case, I'll take my leave." After Li Renmei put away the silk book, Zhao Fu bowed and said.

"Why do you have to be so polite, Lord Zhao!" Li Renmei dared not really accept his greeting, and quickly interrupted him, declaring his loyalty at the right time: "Now these tens of thousands of cavalry are more than enough to scare the thief Zhu, but they are not enough to make the thief waver and surrender. We must quickly wipe out one thief, kill the chicken to scare the monkey, create a powerful momentum, and make the Bian army on both sides of the river tremble. Then we can take advantage of their dirty tricks of watching the fire from the other side of the river and defeat them one by one. When there are signs of destroying the two thieves Zhang and Zhu, Wen will definitely come to help. At that time, I will be the vanguard and sacrifice my life for the Tang Dynasty!"

He had just finished speaking, and before Zhao Fu could organize his words, several of Zhao Fu's sharp-eared followers behind him burst into laughter.

"My Great Tang? Which Tang is the King of Jiujiang from? I've given you all my Tang."

"Look at your precious and pampered troops. They sleep in the wilderness and light a fire to make tea, sing and dance... When I was fighting against the Feng bandits in Tongguan, I slept in the same room with the saint, and I didn't see him behave like this. If you don't stop this extravagant behavior, the three thousand Bian people will kill you and make you have no way to enter the earth! What a shame to be a Bian bandit."

"It's so funny, my Tang Dynasty."

"The Tanguts in Xiazhou and the Nanman are more or less the same as I am."

"... "

Li Renmei didn't even turn her head, and the smile on her face didn't fade or change in the slightest. She just held Zhao Fu's hand and continued the intimate conversation.

"Evil beast!" Zhao Fu's lips twitched, and he was obviously very angry. He picked up a stone and threw it back, cursing, "You are a bunch of bastards who have no sense of propriety! The King of Jiujiang is the nephew of the saint, how can you blaspheme him so wantonly? Get out!"

When they heard Zhao Fu mention the emperor, the officers stopped teasing and spurred their horses away.

Zhao Fu was gentle and elegant like a gentleman one moment ago, but in the next moment he was no different from a lunatic. The seamless switching between the two personalities opened Li Renmei's eyes again.

“King of Jiujiang…” Zhao Fu adjusted his mood and expression and turned around.

"Hey, it's okay, it's okay." Li Renmei laughed and said lightly, "I have been wandering since I was a child. I was not asked by the ministers to be the Khan until I was fifteen. I suffered countless bullying in the meantime. At dawn, I set out to let the Bian thieves know that Yao Geluo Renmei is here, and the Uighur hero who defeated Shi Chaoyi is here."

"Good, I will walk before the king and see blood spilled!"

Zhao Fu bumped his fists with him.

"Lord Zhao makes me like him very much. Your sister, the Privy Councilor, will definitely be able to be controlled in the Mingtang and become the Second Saint Empress..." Li Renmei's eyes were burning, and she didn't care whether this was right or not. Hearing Zhao Fu's face change drastically, he hurriedly changed the subject and said goodbye: "I have military affairs to attend to, so I will leave now."

The Two Saints…

It would be a lie to say that he didn't want to do it. He actually hoped that his sister would sit side by side with the emperor on the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall and accept the worship of all the ministers.

But. Shufei, a wife who shared hardships and humiliation, did not show any evil sins. Xianfei had a big family and a big business, and helped her brother-in-law in times of need. She treated her brother-in-law as a treasure and always mentioned Li Lang. Yang Kezheng, Wu Lingxian, Zhao Ruozhao, Yuwenrou, Chen Chen, Luo Fu, and Nangong Chongyan were all favored no less than their younger sister.

Disaster!Disaster!Disaster!
If Zhengyang is unable to suppress the other disciples, and if he and Zhao Jia, Zhao Chong, Zhao En, Zhao Hui, Zhao Zheng, and Zhao Cun are unable to achieve extraordinary feats...then they should first think about how to capture Xiaopingjin.

　Note 1:

　　Mongolia. One of the original Tatar tribes. In the Tang, Five Dynasties, Liao, Song, Jin and Xia dynasties, it was transliterated in various ways, including Menggu, Mengwu and Menggu. After the Mongols gained control, they were afraid that their ancestors were Tatars, so when compiling the history of Jin, Song and Liao, the Tatar tribe's geography and Rongdi were omitted. Only in some fragments can we see traces of Mongolia. But it can be confirmed that in the Tang and Five Dynasties, the Mongols had begun to participate in the life of the Central Plains. Li Keyong went to Tatar many times to recruit soldiers and got tens of thousands of people. It is a confirmed inference that there were Mongols among them.

　　Note 2: Qiyan, one of the ancient Mongolian clans.

　　Note 3: Battle of Zhaojue Temple. The battle launched by the Tang government army against Shi Chaoyi's group in Luoyang was actually commanded by the deputy commander of the Shuofang Army, Pu Gu Huai'en. The Tang army recaptured Chang'an through the Battle of Xiangji Temple, and through this battle, they recaptured the Central Plains and forced the An Lushan rebels to retreat to Hebei.

　　Note 4: Xiaopingjin. On the south bank of the Yellow River, one of the most important ferry crossings on the ancient Yellow River, and the northern gate of Henan. In the book, the author deduced that the Bian army also stationed troops on the north bank of the ferry crossing. This is a logical requirement. Bian people would do this if they were not stupid. So Xiaopingjin, if not specifically mentioned, refers to the north bank.

　　Note 5: The Uighurs are used to being lax. This is a historical fact. In the third year of Huichang, when they fought against Wujie Khan, Zhuye Chixin and Shitou Xiong led their troops to attack outside Wujie's bedroom tent in the middle of the night, and the Uighur soldiers only then discovered it. The degree of abstraction is extremely explosive in the entire nomadic history. But as long as they deal with the Central Plains soldiers, like Yehu, the military discipline will be very strict. In a word, they are highly malleable.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)