At the foot of Yinzhou City, shouts of killing rang out!
Dozens of cyclone cannons kept throwing stones at the west gate of Yinzhou.
The Yinzhou moat, built with water from the Wuding River, has also been dug out with more than a dozen gaps, and the water in the moat is being drained.
Contrary to the shouts of death from the city, Li Yimin looked embarrassed and a little scared.
He vowed to Zhang Zhao that he would definitely persuade Li Yijing, the Yinzhou defense envoy guarding Yinzhou, to leave the city and surrender.
As a result, the envoy sent by Li Yimin to the city was pulled to the top of the city by Li Yijing and chopped with a knife, and Li Yimin was scolded so hard that he could not hold his head up.
Unlike Li Yimin's embarrassment and fear, Zhang Zhao was indifferent to it.
Li Yijing refused to surrender, so Zhang Zhao killed his whole family, which made him even less burdened.
Yinzhou is not a formidable fortified city like Xiazhou, and it is not that difficult to defeat.
After filling in the trenches and digging the moat, the rebel army attacked from three sides.
The trebuchets smashed the west city gate, the Jindu people blasted the city wall in the south city, and two thousand mining slaves and a thousand people from Ding Shenqi's tribe who had just joined stormed the east gate.
Zhang Zhao himself led a thousand light armored cavalry and a thousand archers to ambush on the hillside outside the north gate.
Sure enough, after three days of fierce attacks by the Guiyi Army from three sides, several hundred Yinzhou troops came out of the city and tried to escape through the north gate.
As a result, they ran into Zhang Zhao's ambush. After more than 300 people were killed and injured, they were all driven to the Wuding River and had no choice but to surrender.
On the fifth day, the trebuchet smashed a huge hole in the west gate of Yinzhou, and Fenjindu also blasted a section of the south city wall.
Zhang Zhao drove the surrendered party members into the vanguard and attacked Yinzhou City from three sides in one fell swoop.
In the Yinzhou Yamen, the defense envoy Li Yijing and his whole family, Zhang Zhao lit a fire himself and burned the whole family to death in the Yamen.
However, Zhang Zhao was still not at ease, so the army marched into the city, identifying each one one by one, to prevent anyone from Li Yijing's family from escaping.
At the end of the investigation, it was confirmed that Li Yijing and his three sons were killed in the fire, and Zhang Zhao felt relieved.
However, there was an unexpected gain during this large-scale search, that is, Zhang Zhao picked up a large Han family in Yinzhou - the Zhang family.
If Zhang Zhao remembers correctly, Zhang Pu, who assisted Li Jiqian in defeating the Song army and assisted Li Deming in initially establishing Xixia, should be a descendant of this Zhang family.
However, things were a bit difficult to handle. At this time, the Zhang family was far from as developed as it would be a few decades later.
Although they also control a large area of land in Yinzhou, in fact, their family is a white glove member of a wealthy party who is not very good at farming.
Those lands looked like they belonged to the Zhang family, but in fact they belonged to Li Yijing and a group of senior Yinzhou officials. The Zhang family was just the organizer of production.
Moreover, they have no military power or political power in their hands. All they can mobilize are their farmers who are proficient in farm work. They are harmless to both humans and animals.
This puts Zhang Zhao in a difficult position. Historically, Zhang Pu was indeed not a thing, but Zhang Zhao can't just accuse the enemy in vain and put things that happened decades later into the present to convict people.
At this time, the patriarch of the Zhang family in Yinzhou was an old man named Zhang Duan. He had a slender figure and seemed to have practiced some guns, sticks, and bows, but more importantly, he showed a scholarly temperament.
He was ecstatic about Zhang Zhao's arrival. How could he not be ecstatic? The Zhang family was basically taking care of the more than 100,000 acres of land in Yinzhou for the party members.
Now that the party members are gone, even if they can get 30% of the land, it will be enough for the Zhang family to eat and drink.
"I heard that the royal family's lineage originated from Nanyang County?"
At this moment, Zhang Duan certainly didn't know that Zhang Zhao was thinking about killing his whole family, and thought that Zhang Zhao was thinking about other things.
But after kneeling on the ground for a long time, Zhang Zhao didn't ask any questions. His knees were really aching, so he could only open the door in a low voice and ask.
Hearing this, Zhang Zhao waved his hand to signal Zhang Duan to stand up, "Yes, a certain family originates from the Nanyang Zhang family in Nanyang County. After arriving in Hexi, the ancestor established his own family name as the Longtongue Zhang family."
"That's great! It's been seven hundred years since the Zhang family of Nanyang first established a prefecture during the Taihe reign of Emperor Ming of Wei Dynasty. Finally, we have such a wise and heroic ruler as our king, which makes people very happy!"
Zhang Zhao let out a long sigh, are you ready to cling to him now?
"From what I heard, you are also a descendant of the Zhang family in Nanyang? When today's emperor is in power, Lord Tianzong Ying must not say such words again."
"Your Majesty taught you a lesson!" After Zhang Duan heard this, he knelt down again, and then took out a book from his waist.
At this time, there were still several decades before Bi Sheng invented movable type printing. Books were almost all copied by hand and were very precious.
"In the second year of Kaiyuan, our ancestor became the magistrate of Rulin County in Yinchuan County. He moved here from Nanyang. There is a genealogy to prove it!"
Zhang Zhao opened it and took a look. It was indeed moved from Nanyang in the second year of Kaiyuan.
However, although the Nanyang Zhang family is as well-known as the Qinghe Zhang family, in fact the county title is fake.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, some poor families with the surname Zhang came up with the fictitious name in order to promote themselves.
At that time, many Zhang family celebrities came from poor families, and they all came from Nanyang Zhang family. To put it bluntly, these were a group of talented people with the surname Zhang who came from poor families, and became one of them.
As long as you are talented and learned, and become a high-ranking official in troubled times, you can call yourself the Nanyang Zhang family. Those who have obtained the Nanyang Zhang family's prestige will not only not expose you, but also pull you in, and everyone will recognize you.
Of course Zhang Duan also knows this. His Nanyang Zhang family and Zhang Zhao's Nanyang Zhang family cannot be the same family.
Except that the ancestors from thousands of years ago may be the same person, there is no other biological relationship.
He was also nervous, wondering if Zhang Zhao would recognize him.
With thousands of thoughts running through his mind, Zhang Zhao thought about it carefully. He could not complete the siege of Xiazhou in a month or two.
The Zhang family in Yinzhou on this page is a local leader. They are in charge of more than a thousand households of farmers. They are a very good logistics partner. Let's give it a try first.
"He is indeed a talented person in our family, get up!" Zhang Zhao closed Zhang Duan's family tree and said softly.
Zhang Duan was so happy that he grinned from ear to ear. He took the genealogy and bowed down to Zhang Zhaoyi respectfully and said.
"Your Majesty, there are 133,420 acres of land in Yinzhou, including more than 40,000 acres of upper fields, more than 70,000 acres of middle fields, and 20,000 acres of lower fields. They were originally the property of the Li family of Dangxiang. Now your Majesty If you win Yinzhou, you should belong to the king."
Zhang Zhao chuckled and glanced at Zhang Duan with deep meaning.
"Yinzhou is indeed rich, but there is no rush in counting the acres. Duan Weng can go back first and do the counting carefully.
There is also the matter of raising grain and grass, which requires a lot of effort. If it is done well, the official position and land will naturally be given to you."
Although Zhang Duan is shrewd, he is just a white glove for Li Yijing and others. At this moment, being stared at by Zhang Zhao, he suddenly felt a terrifying pressure pressing on his head. He wanted to hide the little thought of tens of thousands of acres of land. , and immediately disappeared without a trace.
"I'm sorry, I'll collect the acres of land and Yinzhou to provide food and grass for the army within three days."
After seeing Zhang Duan go out, Zhang Zhao waved his hand and called Fanshun in.
"You will lead two thousand troops and horses to Yinzhou and serve as Yinzhou's defense envoy. You will make Yinzhou city more comfortable and store more wine and meat. Since the winter siege will be difficult, I plan to send the sergeants to Yinzhou in batches for repairs.
That Zhang Duan comes back in three days. If the land is less than 150,000 acres and the grain is less than 30,000 shi, you should mobilize your troops, kill his whole family, and replace him with someone who can handle the matter."
"General, I obey!" Fanshun knew the importance of Yinzhou. With such a logistics base and a comfortable city, it could give the army besieging the city in the ice and snow a little hope, allowing them to look forward to the plum blossoms to quench their thirst, and make it easier to survive this winter.
"A few dozen miles north of Yinzhou, there is a small town named Kaiguang." After giving orders to Fanshun, Zhang Zhao summoned Luo Yuer over again.
"A few days ago, I missed a family. To the north of Consecration, there is a Dangxiang family who has lived in Linzhou and Fuzhou for a long time.
Although the population under the rule of this Zhe family is less than one hundred thousand, the family has been connected for hundreds of years, and they are powerful locals, and the athletes from the two states of Lin Prefecture are also quite good at fighting.
After you go, while you are consecrating and taking precautions, you will send someone with a personal letter to see the Yong'an Army Jiedu Envoy, and the governor of Fuzhou will come from far away."
Speaking of this, Zhang Zhao thought for a while, "It would be best for you to go in person and tell Zhe Congyuan that this march is just about the grievances between Li Yiyin and the Dingnan Army, and nothing else is involved."
After Luo Yu'er left, Zhang Zhao was secretly frightened. People at this time had the best reputation. Among the four Jiedu envoys surrounding the Dingnan Army, he sent Zhangwu Army from Yanzhou, Baoda Army from Yanzhou, and Liu Zhiyuan from Hedong. He called the envoy and sent gifts to explain, but he forgot that the Yong'an army in Fuzhou destroyed his family.
This must not be seen as looking down on the Zhe family? If Li Yiyin or Shi Jingtang persuaded Zhe to lead troops to rescue him from afar, it would be troublesome.
In the shadow of the famous tree, the Zhejia army in later generations was so powerful in the northwest and served as a screen vassal in the Central Plains for hundreds of years. They were not only loyal, but also powerful in combat. It was really not worthwhile to fight with them.
This Zhe family has historically withstood successive attacks from Xixia and Khitan, and remained loyal even after the Northern Song Dynasty was gone. They are exactly the people Zhang Zhao wants to recruit! Fortunately, it's not too late.
However, Zhang Zhao was overthinking this, because at this time, the Zhejia family was also facing the most serious danger.
That is the prefecture among the two prefectures of Linfu where the Zhe family is located, and also among the sixteen prefectures of Yanyun.
The Zhe family has been part of the Northwest Ping vassal for hundreds of years, and has long been Chineseized. In his heart, he also identifies himself as Han, so naturally he does not want to become a Khitan.
After Yelu Deguang stabilized the situation in Yanzhou, he has been using both soft and hard tactics to win over Zhejia.
Zhe Congyuan led the soldiers and civilians of Fuzhou and had actually been resisting the Khitans for several years. However, Fuzhou was remote and Zhe Congyuan was not a big shot, so it did not attract the attention of all parties. Shi Jingtang did not even know about the Fuzhou he carved out. , still resisting.
Historically, Fuzhou was the only one among the sixteen ceded states of Yanyun that was not allowed to the Khitan people. This is evident from the loyalty of the Zhe family.
Just as Luo Yu'er left, Ding Shenqi came in again. With a slight salute, this guy actually sat down on the bed without a care in the world.
"A certain family is old and not as young as the king. They can't bear the pain of standing. Please don't blame me!"
Zhang Zhao chuckled, the smile on his face was extremely bright, and he did not feel dissatisfied at all because of Ding Shenqi's pretentiousness.
"Ding Gong and I are both the commander-in-chief of the imperial court. Since the elder Ding is the elder, he should be someone's elder. There is no need to be formal!"
When Ding Shenqi heard Zhang Zhao's words, he was immediately overjoyed. He felt more and more that this place in Hexi was only able to achieve this feat by relying on the support of the elders in the family and the blessing of his ancestors.
But I also know that respecting an elder like him is not bad.
Guo Tiance, who was in the distance, saw the smile and kind words on Zhang Zhao's face, and couldn't help but feel a layer of white sweat on his back.
As King Zhang's personal attendant, he knew the king's temper better than anyone else.
It seems that people are very popular, which means they are very popular among those who have the ability and character.
For people like Ding Shenqi, I'm afraid they don't have that much magnanimity.
Just looking at such a "good" smile and words at this moment, I am afraid that my heart is extremely angry. This Ding Shenqi will probably not live to be the governor of Suizhou.
He was complaining in his mind here, but the conversation there was over, and Ding Shenqi bowed her hands to Zhang Zhao with a swagger and a smile.
"Since the King of Han said so, I will listen to the king for the time being. As long as the king captures Xiazhou as soon as possible and does not delay me from attacking Suizhou."
"Definitely! Definitely! Please don't worry, Mr. Ding!" Zhang Zhao became more and more respectful and promised repeatedly.
And not only was he respectful to Ding Shenqi, after Ding Shenqi left, Zhang Zhao also smiled when he looked at Guo Tiance.
"Tiance, what do you think Ding Shenqi should do to him?"
Guo Tiance was so frightened by Zhang Zhao's smiling look that his throat went dry, and he hurriedly said: "Ding Shenqi has a military academy under his command called He Administration.
This person has colluded with the Xiangsi family of the Yanzhou party, and even married a daughter of the Si family. We have the handle, his wife and children in our hands, but we ordered He Zhengyi to pretend to have a grudge against Ding Shenqi and kill him!"
"This idea..." Zhang Zhao touched his chin and thought for a moment.
"That's not appropriate. In the Guiyi Army, there can never be such a thing where the subordinates overcome the superiors, not to mention that it was ordered by us. Barbarian Bear, you come in."
When Man Xiong heard Zhang Zhao calling him, he walked in with a bang.
"Ten days later, a certain person will ask Ding Shenqi to lead an army to attack Funing County, which is also in Suizhou. When Tiance asked He Zhengyi to attack the city, you killed Ding Shenqi with a cold arrow. Do not make any announcement."
With that said, Zhang Zhao patted the bear.
"After He Zhizhi killed Ding Shenqi, you found an opportunity to have a conflict with He Zhizhi, and then accidentally beat him to death. After the matter was done, a certain officer sent you to Yan Jin's place. You may have to be wronged for several months."
The bear grinned, "What's wrong with this? I went to Yan Chengjie's place, and without the control of the king, a certain bear drank freely and ate meat. I don't know how happy it is!"
"Damn you!" Zhang Zhao curled his lips in disgust.
"What do you know other than eating and drinking? You can't even be an official, and you don't know how to give your son a good background and leave some family property."
Man Xiong got married after returning from the East, and his son is now almost two years old. When he heard Zhang Zhao mention his son, the fool finally showed a loving expression on his face, but then he smiled.
"Leave me a request! I will teach him how to use guns, sticks, fists and kicks. When he is fourteen, I will let him serve as a bodyguard for the king."
"You're quite thoughtful!"
Zhang Zhao was stunned for a long time, not knowing whether to call him stupid or smart.
This chapter has been completed!