Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 146 Profit
In the blink of an eye, Jiangzuo was in chaos.

When Liu Laozhi's army reached Zhuli, he suddenly turned against Wang Gong, killed Yan Yan, the commander sent by Wang Gong, and sent his son-in-law Gao Yazhi and son Liu Jingxuan to attack Wang Gong. Wang Gong was defeated and fled to Qu'a on horseback, preparing to surrender to Huan Xuan and wait for a comeback.

However, because he was not good at riding a horse, he was reported and arrested when he arrived at Changtang Lake and was escorted to Jiankang.

Liu Laozhi led the Northern Army to station in Jiankang.

Huan Xuan and Yang Qunqi were afraid of Liu Laozhi's reputation, so they retreated to Caizhou and continued to confront the imperial army.

The situation reversed instantly.

The Sima family's rule remains stable.

Not daring to fight on the battlefield, Yin Zhongkan, Yang Qunqi and Huan Xuan jointly submitted a petition to the court, requesting the execution of Liu Laozhi to thank the world.

Liu Laozhi marched towards Xinting. Both the Northern Army and the Western Army were elite troops who had experienced the Battle of Feishui and were the last elite troops of the Jin Dynasty. Neither side took action and only engaged in small-scale contact battles.

The Western Palace Army was located upstream, with a powerful navy and numerous famous generals under its command, including Yang Qunqi, Feng Gai, Wu Fuzhi, Huangfu Fu...

In particular, Feng Gai, who held the position of General Yangwei and Governor of Yongzhou, was loyal to the Huan family. In the 11th year of Taiyuan (386), he defeated the Di Qin army, beheaded Emperor Fu Pi, captured his crown prince Fu Ning and Prince of Changle Fu Shou alive, and sent them to Jiankang.

Wu Fuzhi and Huangfu Fu were also brave generals under Huan Xuan. They followed Huan Chong and Zhu Xu to participate in the Northern Expedition and fought hard against the various Hu tribes in the north.

The Northern Palace Army was good at land warfare, but was at a disadvantage downstream, and the imperial navy was completely destroyed by Sima Huizhi.

Without a navy, there is no initiative and one can only passively defend.

The Western Army took the initiative to retreat to Caizhou in the middle of the river. The Northern Army had no boats and could not get through no matter how powerful they were.

For a moment, neither side could do anything to the other.

It was like this, on and off, until the new year...

"Last year, there was a bumper harvest of grain. The government warehouse had 17,000 dan of rice, 34,000 dan of beans, and 23,000 dan of millet." Liu Zhong came to Guangling specifically to report.

"It's just this little..." Liu Daogui looked depressed.

This was still a bumper harvest. It took three years to store up 74,000 shi of grain.

When Emperor Wu of Wei established military farms in Xu, he had a million dan of grain that year.

However, the scale of the two sides cannot be compared. Liu Daogui only controls three counties, and the population of Bazhuang is only 10,000.

"It's already very difficult. After all, we only have a little over 2,700 hectares of fertile land. We have to give half of the grain we grow to the villagers, feed the soldiers and horses, and keep some for next year's seeds."

I can accept what he said.

Liu Daogui browsed through the documents. Food was just one of the items he gained.

During the past six months, the cavalry had made a total of 87 attacks, capturing 2,100 young and strong men, more than 4,500 heads of livestock and 121 war horses.

There were twenty-seven head-on clashes with the Yan army, eleven of which were won, thirteen were lost, and the rest were draws.

Two hundred and twenty-one people were killed, and one hundred and seventy-two enemies were killed...

Liu Daogui looked at the data and couldn't help but frowning. By doing this, his side suffered a great loss.

You have to know that there were not many elite Yan troops left in Yanzhou, and all the elite troops had been recalled by Murong Chui. It was really unacceptable that they were still beaten like this.

However, after careful analysis and comparison, we found that the losses occurred in the very beginning, and the more time passed, the more victories we would have.

On one occasion, the brothers Wang Yuande and Wang Zhongde joined forces to defeat 500 infantry and cavalry of the Yan army and killed 72 people in battle.

This shows that we are making continuous progress, and the strengths and weaknesses of our side must be observed. Everything has a process and cannot be achieved overnight.

The Yan army was strong, and our own side was weak. This was the truth. The Xianbei cavalry had long been renowned for their dominance throughout the land, while the Eight-Station Cavalry was a hastily assembled unit. Their record was already quite impressive. The Eight-Station Cavalry was gradually growing stronger.

In addition, there were "tributes" sent by Lanling powerful families such as the Xiao, Sun, and Zhao families, which totaled more than 5,000 strings of cash and more than 2,000 stones of grain.

It's good to have some income these days.

There was less food, but there were a lot of livestock looted, which also served as food reserves. There were also sea fish, sea vegetables, etc. brought back by Li Damu, which together were still quite considerable.

By the end of the year, only 40,000 strings of cash were shipped to Langya, and eleven salt fields were added, which did not meet Liu Muzhi's expectations.

The main reason is that someone in Yandu took over the business and took away some of it.

However, as long as it is still growing, Liu Daogui can accept 40,000 coins in half a year. The piece of fat meat of private salt is too big, and he cannot swallow it all with his own strength.

Liu Zhong said, "There's one more thing. The spies reported that the Yan army has returned and a large force has entered Huatai."

"Could it be that Murong Chui intends to capture Luoyang?"

Two years ago, after defeating Murong Yong and Zhai Liao, Sima Daozi received no reward. Zhu Xu resigned on the grounds of old age and frailty, and Sima Daozi unexpectedly agreed...

Yu Kai of Yuzhou was defeated by Sima Shangzhi, and Yuzhou fell into emptiness, while Liu Laozhi was fighting against Huan Xuan in Jiangdong.

It is a huge opportunity for Murong Chui.

Huatai is just to the east of Luoyang. Luoyang’s strategic value and its significance to the hearts of the people are self-evident.

"Not only Luoyang, but Northern Yuzhou is also within Murong Chui's plan."

After destroying Zhai Wei, Yan State became more and more prosperous. Given the current situation of the Jin Dynasty, there was no need to send troops, as Murong Chui would surrender wherever he went.

This was the case when he conquered the three states of Qing, Yan and Xu. Cities and fortresses in various places surrendered at the sight of him.

"This is something the imperial court should worry about. We have no right to interfere. As long as Xuzhou is stable, we can have Liu Guangzhi, Mao Dezu, Wang Yuande, and Wang Zhongde send more troops to harass Yanzhou."

Whether Murong Chui attacks Luoyang and Yanzhou or not, it will have no impact on him.

Liu Zhong said, "At the end of last year, Murong De and Murong Shao recruited Dingling captives and strengthened the Yanzhou military. I'm afraid our army is not strong enough to cope with it."

This is indeed a problem, the strength of the two sides is not on the same level.

After annexing Zhai Wei, Yan State became even stronger.

The Dingling people were originally a branch of the Xiongnu and lived in the Beihai area. Shi Hu summoned them to the Central Plains, and Fu Jian settled them in Xin'an and Mianchi. They were originally related by marriage to Murong Chui, and followed Murong Chui to pacify Hebei, and their power grew.

So after Murong Chui defeated Zhai Zhao, the forces in various parts of Zhai Wei surrendered directly.

"Haven't we absorbed a lot of refugees and captives in the past six months? Let's form a volunteer army and go to war together."

There were many foreigners among the captives and refugees. Plundering was their forte, so they didn't feel bad about the casualties, let alone provide them with compensation...

Anyway, the war cannot stop, just treat it as a training process.

If you want to gain a foothold in the north, you have no choice but to fight.

"I'll go back to Lanling now." Liu Zhong turned around and left, returning overnight.

Liu Daogui saw that it was getting late and was about to rest when Zhao Liangzhi arrived and said, "Military officer, Envoy Huan is having a night banquet."

Liu Daogui was extremely puzzled. "Huan Hong? Why is he out again? Isn't this another Hongmen Banquet?"

"Don't worry, the brothers in the military office only listen to you now. We can't hide any movement!"

(End of this chapter)