Li Shien, the deputy envoy guarding the southern Hebei army, walked quickly out of the prefectural government office.
He thought to himself, eating another soft nail.
The full name of the Military Preparation Road is to regulate the military preparations of a certain road. Only Guanfang does not have the official seal. It can control the garrison troops, but it is controlled by the governor.
The responsibilities are to train the troops of the garrison and the local people, arrest thieves and suppress civil unrest, and manage the troops, money, grain, and farmland of the garrison.
At first, it was set up for accidental reasons, but in order to strengthen local defense, it has now become a permanent one.
Li Shien has been busy with one thing recently, asking for food.
His duty is to prepare troops for the army, but the status of the army preparation station in Shanxi is very embarrassing. The guard post in Fenzhou Prefecture was originally a place for thousands of herds of the vassal king, and it still listens to the vassal king today.
Simply listening to Wang Fu is not a problem, it is easy to solve.
However, the military field was ruined and the Wei Dynasty was very dependent on the palace for the economy. There was no other way. It was only natural that whoever eats his food would do his own business.
As for Li Shien, although he is from Beizhili, he studied in Xizhou with his father in his early years and knows the situation in Shanxi very well.
Therefore, when he first took office, Li Shien knew what his military preparation was supposed to do.
Don't expect to tidy up the guard house. That's not something he, a fourth-rank official, can do.
Bingbei Road Bingbei Road was mainly set up to suppress civil uprisings, so his mission is to prevent civil uprisings in Fenzhou Prefecture.
The drought has lasted for several years, becoming more severe year by year. Only this year has the drought situation in Shanxi slightly eased, but people's livelihood west of the Luliang Mountains is still in decline.
Fenyang, where Fenzhou City is located, is east of Luliang Mountain, but it cannot be said that the west of Luliang Mountain is not Fenzhou Prefecture.
Therefore, after discussing with many officials in the state government, he was in charge of water conservancy construction and city wall construction. He temporarily planned to build long-abandoned water conservancy facilities in Ningxiang, Shilou, and Linxian, and to raise the city wall to prevent Shaanxi bandits.
Enter Jin.
It's a very good idea, but it costs money.
This is difficult. Those three counties are so poor that they can't even afford a thousand taels of silver for the county government offices, so there's no way to start.
And the state government's government office was running out of money, so things fell into an endless loop.
Today, he once again went into the prefectural government office to discuss building water conservancy projects and organizing and training the people of the three counties. When others heard about it, they knew he was asking for money, so they started crying about poverty before he even opened his mouth.
In the end, I had no choice but to stay up until evening, and had no choice but to come out of the Yamen in despair.
After get off work, he planned to have a drink to relieve his depression.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the Yamen, I heard someone shouting next to me: "Brother Shi'en! Brother Shi'en, don't leave!"
Thinking about which friend came to Fenzhou Mansion, Li Shien turned his head.
He was a slightly older middle-aged gentleman, wearing a brocade square scarf on his head, a light blue Taoist robe with dark patterns, and a jade and sachet around his waist. He was handsome, but his clothes were dusty, and he also had a sword hanging on his waist.
, walking quickly.
No matter how he thought about it, Li Shi'en couldn't recall this person, so he couldn't help raising his hand and asked: "I wonder who you are?"
"Brother Shi'en, it's me. You and I were studying together in Xizhou. There was an earthquake in the 42nd year of Wanli and the county school collapsed. You were studying in the back mountain. I went to call you out and helped you run down the mountain road.
Then the landslide was like thunder."
The old gentleman was very excited and walked up to him and said, "Forgot? Xizhou Health Officer Che Cai!"
Following his words, memories gradually emerged before his eyes. Li Shien's face looked relaxed, and then he raised his hand to hug Che and said, "It's Brother Che! I haven't seen him in many years! Are you still in Xizhou?"
In fact, Che is almost ten years older than Li Shien.
"You were still in Xizhou, and later you passed the imperial exams and then the Jinshi. After you left, I worked as a Confucian instructor in Xizhou for two years, and then... oh, it's hard to describe in a word."
When old friends met, Li Shien turned around and asked someone to get out of the carriage. He held the driver's arm and walked forward: "If you can't finish talking, let's talk slowly. There's plenty of time tonight. You're in Xizhou but you didn't come to see me. I'll meet you later."
Have a few more drinks!”
When the coachman arrived, the two drove out of the city and went straight to Wen Lake in the east of the city. They found a seat in a restaurant by the lake, ordered three meat and three vegetables, and two pots of Fen wine. They opened the window and listened to the fishermen singing late at night, watching the sun set over the western mountains.
After drinking for three rounds, Che slowly recounted his experiences over the years: "My family is a single generation of three generations. My old father always wanted to have a grandson as soon as possible. My wife and I have been married for more than ten years. We have no children and I don't know whose business it is. I also want to
Marry someone else, but I just want to think about it."
"Brother Shi'en also knows that my family has been farming in Zaowang Mountain for generations. We were not rich in the past, and it was only in my generation that I went to school. When I was studying in Zhouzhou, my classmates often laughed at my family's poverty, but I have not yet
After being admitted as a scholar, Su Niang followed me."
Li Shien put down his glass and nodded, sighed, and asked: "Brother Che still has no heirs?"
"I adopted a distant nephew, but who doesn't want to have a baby of my own? Last winter, Su Niang allowed me to take a concubine, so I found a girl from Lehu in Fanjiashan, Yonghe County. She looked like a decent girl who knew how to play the piano and dance.
When the time comes, you will be brought into your home."
Hearing Che Cai say this, Li Shien cupped his hands and showed an envious smile, saying: "In that case, Brother Che has a beautiful woman to accompany him and enjoy the blessings of the whole family, what else can I ask for!"
There was not much joy on Che Cai's face, but a look of unspeakable sorrow, and there was even deep hatred in his eyes: "But the night before seven days ago, soldiers from the Fenzhou Guard entered Zaowang Mountain!"
Li Shien was picking up his wine glass and wanted to clink it with Cha Cai. Hearing this, he paused and the smile on his face solidified: "Soldiers of the Fenzhou Guard?"
"The Fenzhou Flag Guard sent troops to cross the border, but the military commander didn't know about it?"
There seemed to be blazing anger in Che Cai's eyes: "My concubine's surname is Du. I have a little sister who has not yet left the court, and her family is really poor. Her sister came home three days after entering the house and invited relatives and friends to have a banquet. I promised my little sister to find a good home for her.
I went to Linxian County to visit friends because of my marriage."
"If this were not the case, if you want to drink and have fun today, I would have to wear plain clothes to sleep in your dream!"
The wine glass fell.
Li Shien shook his head hurriedly and said: "Brother Che, I really didn't know that the Fenzhou Guards crossed the border. That commander Zhang Zhan was stationed at Shilou half a month ago to defend against the defeated army returning from King Qin of North Zhili. How could he dare to cross the border?
”
After a brief panic, Li Shien came back to his senses and quickly asked: "How is Zaowang Mountain now?"
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"It's gone. Zaowang Mountain and Fanjiashan are gone, and no one is left. The house in Zaowangshan was burned down, and I couldn't recognize any of the corpses as Su Niang; Fanjiashan was also massacred.
She is so clean that Yueniang will still wear the makeup I made for her until she dies."
The old scholar sat on the top chair with his fists pressed firmly under the table. In fact, he didn't know why he came to Li Shien.
The military turmoil in his hometown was not the first bad thing he encountered.
In fact, he failed to find his old friends in Linxian County, where there was also military chaos.
The big thieves from Qin didn't stick to the mud. They led a crowd to rob civilian ships from Jiazhou, set up small artillery to bombard the Kehuzhai ferry, and then the whole division crossed the border. Thousands of people gathered in Linxian for two days, and then headed north.
Puxing County.
When the car came out of Linxian City, I heard that Kelan Shixi's garrison was mobilizing troops and horses. However, Hequ Shenji in the north was defeated by Wang Jiayin. The two thieves attacked Kelan Prefecture together, and the garrison may not be able to stop it.<
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As the car was heading south, it was also heard that Gao Yingxiang, a giant invader from Shaanxi, had captured Wubao first, forcing the generals guarding Mengmen Pass to abandon the pass and flee. Then the Qinglongdu Inspection Department was also killed without leaving any trace, and he soon followed up.
Thousands of people swept through Yongning Prefecture.
In fact, he was tied up once on the road. More than ten thieves swept up and tied him up with the intention of asking for his property from home. However, for some unknown reason, they heard that he was from Yonghe County, Xizhou, so they let him go.
.
I only took away his money.
At that time, Che Cai was quite happy with the rest of his life after the robbery. Little did he know that when he returned to Xizhou, what awaited him would be a broken family and a loss of life.
He had been in a state of despair these past few days. He had no idea what he should do. He couldn't even collect the corpse.
He tried to find the Yonghe County government office the day before yesterday, but before he could walk a few steps south, he heard villagers talking in the village where he was resting.
It is said that General Liu from Shaanxi defeated the Fenzhou Banner Guards in Yonghe County and executed more than 400 banner soldiers who participated in the massacre of Zaowang Mountain and Fanjiazhuang.
Che didn't believe it and didn't dare to go to Yonghe County.
In Linxian, he still had some money, but now his home was burned down and he had no money left. If he ran over there and was caught by thieves, he would have no money to give to others this time.
Later, he realized that Bing Beidao of Fenzhou Prefecture was his classmate when he was a scholar in the past, so he approached Li Shien.
Che Cai told Li Shien these things one by one, leaving Li Shien dumbfounded.
Why did it suddenly become like this?
Then General Liu came from Xizhou, General Gao entered Yongning Prefecture, General Ni went to Kelan Prefecture, and General Wang went to Hequ.
The Yellow River in Shanxi is almost undefended.
And the most important thing is what Che Cai said about Fenzhou Wei.
"Then bastard Zhang Zhan just defeated all the soldiers I was in charge of?"
One thousand seven hundred banner troops, Li Shien's heart is bleeding.
Fenzhou Guard has always been dissatisfied with the establishment. Theoretically, there are less than 4,000 banner troops, but many of these 4,000 banner troops are scattered in the East and West Palaces and Wangzhuang in various places. Only 2,000 people can be mobilized normally.
If I had to count, there might be another two hundred.
They are all from commanding officers to hundreds of households, and there is no real shortage of hereditary officers.
I'm almost dead all of a sudden.
Li Shien had no intention of drinking anymore, and the pleasant scenery outside the window also became strange in his eyes.
There was an invasion west of Luliang Mountain, and he knew it.
But the experience of his former classmates made him feel unspeakable confusion.
These people are doing strange things. What are they doing?
What are the soldiers doing and what are the thieves doing?
The banner army relied on the protection of the palace and became more and more unscrupulous in the increasingly chaotic world.
The thieves defeated the army and opened a yamen on the spot in the valley, where their crimes were made public and tried and punished.
What happened just a few hundred miles away, but blocked by Luliang Mountain, became two worlds.
The peaceful and peaceful scenery of fishermen singing good night outside the window, is it still worth seeing the fake scenery now?
He turned to Che and asked: "Brother Che, what are your plans now?"
Che Cai shook his head with a gloomy look on his face. After suffering such a disaster, his family was destroyed, what else could he have planned?
"I'm very upset right now. I want to inform the government of this news as soon as possible. I also need to let Taiyuan and Pingyang know about it, and coordinate to set up a defense line in Luliang Mountain. Since Brother Che doesn't know his plan, it's better to stay with my younger brother to help him.
,What do you think, Brother Che?"
At this point, Che Cai also knew that this was Li Shien's self-effacing words. He had nothing to do to help him. He just wanted to find a place for him to stay.
After waiting for the car to thank him, Li Shien quickly stood up: "Without further delay, I will go to Fucheng right now!"
The fourth day when Liu Chengzong annihilated the Fenzhou Guard’s 1,700 banner troops.
March 11th of the third year of Chongzhen.
The news was first informed by Xizhou Health Officer Che Cai to Bingbei Road Li Shien.
Li Shien then conveyed the news to Fucheng. Fucheng's response strategy was to first send detectives into Luliang Shanxi to explore the intelligence of the counties.
However, Lee Se-eun of Jaehyung Beidou repeatedly requested and guaranteed the authenticity of the source of the information.
The most important news was that night, a fast horse was sent from Fenzhou Fucheng eastward to Hongshan Horse Station between Pingyao County and Qi County.
However, because it was already getting late, there were no boatmen on the Fen River. The message was sent to Ma Kuai, which was delayed in searching for boatmen along the coast. The news was sent to Taiyuan by the Hongshan Horse Station, and it was already the morning of the 12th in Pingyang.
After all, it’s still a step too late.
What was late was not the defense line set up by the government, but the day before, forty flag troops from Zezhou Ningshan Guard escorted two Hongyi cannons loaded on four-wheeled artillery carts and had passed Xizhou City.
Entering Yonghe County.
But the owner of these two red barbarian cannons, Mr. Huo, is no longer alive.
Liu Chengzong was sitting in the lobby of Huojiabao doing calculations with Cheng Yuan. He was not calculating how much money his eight sentry auxiliaries should get, but the vehicles needed for material transportation.
They want to establish a supply line between Yonghe County and Yanchuan County.
But instead of the rear supplying the front, the front supplies supplies to the rear in the opposite direction.
Mr. Huo is an interesting gentry in this place. His family does not have much land and only has more than a thousand dan of grain stored in his family, but he has more than 22,000 taels of silver.
Even if the money distributed to the soldiers is excluded, the silver stored in Liu Chengzong's camp is still enough to cast a thousand-jin red barbarian cannon.
The officers and sergeants of the Lion Battalion have received their share. Now the Lion Battalion is still in a state of having money but not knowing how to spend it, so everyone has shown extraordinary dedication.
From the post commander down, almost all officers spent their money on purchasing ordnance for their subordinates. They not only bought the items but also sold them, and the exchanged supplies were sold to the work sentries again.
Now the work posts have piles of various weapons, armor pieces, cotton-padded clothes, military uniforms and other items.
They can't move forward with these things, and the baggage sentries can't carry them.
Liu Chengzong planned to transport these things back to Xingzi River and ask Lin Wei to mobilize the Wangzhuang craftsmen to clean them up and repair the damaged armor pieces and weapons.
At this moment, Wei Qian'er announced in front of the door, strode into the hall, and said to Liu Chengzong: "General, the flag army from Zezhou has stopped at Sangbi Mountain. The people sent over
It has been detained."
Liu Chengzong put down his pen and said with a smile: "Haha, what did the people sent say?"
"They came here to ask Mr. Huo to send someone to pick up the artillery, but I was worried that they would know the news about Huojiabao from the people, so I sent someone to watch them from a distance."
"Then what are you waiting for? Chengyun will do the math here and send people to ask Li Wanqing to lead troops into Yanchuan."
Liu Chengzong stood up and rubbed his hands: "Let the left sentry break camp and get my cannon back!"