Dusi General Huang Ming led dozens of banner troops to pursue him along the way. He ran from night to day, and from day to dusk, and finally caught up with Prince Su at the entrance to the northern part of Anding County.
Before recruiting King Su, Huang Ming's purpose was very clear. He wanted to ask King Su to return to Lanzhou to take charge of the overall situation. As long as King Su was still in Lanzhou, Lanzhou would not fall instantly.
But now they really chased King Su, which made him extremely confused. Lanzhou City was naturally completely occupied between morning and dusk. If they go back now, it will probably be their turn to attack the city. They can only enter the Yanshou Horse with King Su.
Rest.
King Su was still without a master. When Huang Ming said that it was Shi Xiang who put the troops of the Marshal's Mansion into Lanzhou City, he was shocked to realize that he had been deceived. He turned around to ask the sergeant of the Lanzhou Battalion who escorted him, but found that the man had been here before Huang Ming.
Sometimes I just used the excuse of walking my horse and ran away without a trace.
In desperation, he had to have someone to help him make decisions, so he could only discuss with Huang Ming what to do in the future. Unfortunately, it was difficult for the two of them to talk together.
Huang Ming is a general who was swept up in the army. Zhang Tianlin was the one who dared to lead the train army out of the city to race when Zhang Tianlin besieged Lanzhou City. No matter what situation he faced, he had to take action.
King Su is of noble birth, but his status determines that this person is the greatest help to the world and himself if he does nothing while alive.
Huang Ming believed that King Su should stay in Anding and help him summon the gentry, recruit rural people, integrate the landlords, and pull out an army. Even if it was not to regain Lanzhou, at least to guard Anding and prevent the rebels from taking Gongchang Mansion.
.
There is no problem with the logic of this matter. Rely on the second-line or even third-line armies such as the rural soldiers and flag troops in Longxi, Qinzhou, and Jingning Prefecture to seize the difficult terrain, and rely on the ancient castles and villages that have existed on this land for thousands of years. No matter what we face,
All opponents can hold on for a while.
For a while, the iron smelting center in the southeast of Gongchang Prefecture cannot be lost.
What's more important is that this place cannot be lost. Even though Gongchang Mansion is not rich in agriculture, its folk customs are fierce and its handicraft industry is developed. There is plenty of salt and iron, and there are many craftsmen. The most common place names in this place are Shangzhai, Xiazhai and Wayao.
Castle and Ironforge.
And Yikou is the north gate of Anding County, guarding the broadest ancient road from Lanzhou to Anding and even Longxi.
Huang Ming believed that this place was very suitable for defending, and there was also a ready-made castle. Between Jikou and Anding, on the west bank of the Guanchuan River, there was an ancient city stationed with 11 patrol archers and 11 Pu Si soldiers.
Guanchuan Inspection Department, also called Anding Sansanlipu.
This is a castle built in the Song Dynasty. It was called Anxi City at that time, which means to stabilize Xixia. There are barbicans in the north and south, with horse faces on the four walls, sixteen piers and platforms at the four corners, and a sheep and horse wall outside the city. p>
Huang Ming said: "With this castle here, even if the Liu bandits take the mountains and cross the sea, with His Highness here to stabilize the morale of the army, we will be able to survive until the reinforcements arrive."
This is not a big deal. Yang Yanchang is in Pingliang Mansion, and he is practicing state affairs in Qinzhou. The distance is only three hundred miles, and the distance is only five hundred miles. It is not a big problem to rely on the castle to defend it for seven or eight days. After all, it is just to build an offensive.
City equipment is not limited to this time.
King Su also thought that what Huang Ming said was reasonable, but he immediately sent someone to call all the palace guards who had fled with him, surrounded Huang Ming, and then asked very seriously: "General Huang, come over here, this king
Have I ever owed anything to you?"
Huang Ming shook his head with a puzzled look on his face: "Not only has your Majesty never owed me anything, but he has also been very helpful to the Lanzhou garrison. I wonder what your Majesty means by this?"
"Oh, I never owe anything."
Su Wang Zhu Shihong was relieved and asked: "Since I have never owed anything, why did the general harm me?"
Not to mention guarding Sanlipu here, what if he could gather the troops to take back Lanzhou? From the moment he left Lanzhou City, Su Wang Zhu Shihong knew very well that he was already guilty.<
/p>
Things are not irreversible now. As long as he admits his mistake to the emperor obediently, he will probably confiscate Lumi.
But if he dares to recruit troops to defend Lanzhou, it is uncertain whether the imperial court can recapture Lanzhou. Regardless of whether he recaptures it or not, Fengyang High Wall is probably his only destination.
Su Wang Zhu Shihong could not accept Huang Ming's suggestion, and finally chose to part ways with him, and continued his journey to Pingliang under the escort of the palace guards.
On the other side, Liu Chengzong heard that the outer city of Lanzhou had been easily captured, and Li Zude, who was guarding the inner city, also wanted to join him, so he immediately decided to go to Lanzhou in person.
Li Zude's surrender conditions were not a big deal to Liu Shishi. The Marshal's Office had a long history of arranging the placement of generals who had been demoted. They would be demoted to one level without fighting, demoted to reinstatement without fighting, and demoted to one level if defeated and surrendered.
This rule has nothing to do with Liu Shizi’s personal preferences, it’s entirely because it’s easy to arrange.
The most fundamental difference between surrendering before fighting and surrendering after defeat is that the troops led by the former can be better preserved. The surrender of the Marshal's Mansion is equivalent to a direct expansion, and the increase in the establishment will have little impact on the interests of the direct generals.
The latter, after fighting, led fewer troops than official positions. When the official was restored to his original post or the official promotion was granted, it would affect the promotion of his direct generals. Therefore, Liu Chengzong often appeared to be very stingy when dealing with demoted generals.
The Lanzhou city soldiers opened the city and surrendered without bloodshed, which not only preserved the strength of the Marshal's Mansion army, but also basically preserved the original garrison in Lanzhou. Therefore, Liu Chengzong was rarely generous in awarding the official position of a demoted general.
On the third day after Lanzhou City was captured, Liu Chengzong held a banquet under Lanzhou City, accepted the surrender of Shi Xiang, Zhang Yunqi, and Li Zude, the former generals of the Lanzhou Battalion, and then stationed in Lanzhou Suwang Palace City, announcing the rise of the West Gate Tower in the palace city.
I stayed in the hall for three days to accept the accusations made by the Lanzhou elders against the evil gentry, the Zhu Ming clan, the generals of the guard, and the corrupt officials.
At the same time, Hehuang's township official team also settled in Lanzhou City and started measuring acres of land outside the city and counting family properties in the city.
During these three days, Liu Chengzong issued only three laws and orders, telling the entire city's soldiers and civilians to abolish all lowly statuses, to behead those who murdered, and to chop off the hands of those who stole, so that the people could live in their own homes.
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Liu Chengzong's original idea was to temporarily stabilize the wealthy families in the city, and then wait until the battlefield was far away from Lanzhou to equalize land and confiscate homes. However, Su Fan was very poor, which he really did not expect.
Su Fan is definitely not poor. There are countless precious national treasures in the treasury, but national treasures cannot be used as military pay or as food. However, Su Fan is too poor in terms of money and grain.
If there were a ranking list of professionals who were good at looting, then Liu Chengzong's two generals, Luo Rucai and Yang Chengzu, would definitely be tied for the top spot.
The two of them are no longer the thieves who robbed and smashed at the same time in the early years. The two of them and their direct generals are well-informed and have the richest experience in looting in the world. They have accomplished such a great feat as emptying the Han Palace until now.
No one can break their record.
However, two generals led their troops to turn King Su's city upside down. They even fished out the 144 carved stones that King Su had hidden in a deep well before he left. However, they did not find much food. p>
So much so that Luo Rucai went to Liu Chengzong with frowning eyes and reported their harvest: "Commander, we have tried our best. Counting gold and silver jewelry, the entire Su Fan only has 884 taels of gold and 23,300 taels of silver.
Two, and Tongbao 1.6 million."
Liu Chengzong raised his eyebrows and calculated that the equivalent of thirty thousand taels of silver was far from what he expected, so he asked: "Where is the food?"
"There is less food, only more than 20,000 shi."
Liu Chengzong shook his head, stood on Fuyun Tower, looked at the roaring Yellow River, and said slowly: "There is no way."
He needs the silver and food in this city to reward the army, and thirty thousand taels of silver is simply not enough.
After three days, when the people in the city stabilized a little, Liu Chengzong took off his amiable mask and issued an order to surrender.
The contents of the military confiscation order are to remove all households in and outside Lanzhou whose wealth exceeds one hundred taels of silver, whose grain storage exceeds one hundred shi, who have more than ten houses, two horses, two oxen, two donkeys and mules, and two carts.
Property used as military expenses.
At the same time, troops were sent to carry notices and inform the people, soldiers and civilians within the Lintao Prefecture that the Marshal's Office would organize households here and all the people would be given land before spring plowing, and the preferential treatment policy for military households in Hehuang would also be conveyed to Lintao.
The flag troops from the two guard posts in Hezhou asked them to surrender as soon as possible.
Li Wanqing is also very skilled at this kind of thing. They had done the same thing as early as when Zhenyuan was captured, but the scope of work in Lanzhou was larger.
Because the Marshal's Mansion had earlier plundered more than a hundred wealthy families in Lintao Prefecture, Lanzhou had an unprecedented density of wealthy households. Although the standards set by Liu Chengzong were not low, there were still only a hundred households in the city who did not meet the conditions.
It’s not that Lanzhou City is full of wealthy households. The more wealthy households there are, the more poor people need to serve them. But Lanzhou is a special place. It guards the Hehuang Valley where all industries have been destroyed, and the poor can go there.
Those who ran westward all went westward.
Secondly, many of the poor people who stayed in Lanzhou became traffickers and made a lot of money by selling things to Hehuang. Coupled with the good harvest in Hexi last year, every family had a surplus of money.
So after the confiscation order was issued, Lanzhou City almost blinked and became the only unpopular city under the Marshal's Mansion.
There was nothing he could do about being unpopular. At least Liu Chengzong had money and food. Through the confiscation of the army, the Marshal's Mansion broke up his family and accumulated wealth. He easily obtained more than 270,000 shi of food and 350,000 taels of silver, and then entered the next step of deployment. p>
First, the brigade commander Wang Wenxiu was given the title of second-class general to govern the country, and was granted the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Marshal's Mansion, commanding him to guard Lanzhou, take charge of Lintao Prefecture's military base and farmland, and train troops and select generals.
Li Wanqing, Yang Chengzu, Luo Rucai, and Shi Xiang were all added to the third rank of General Zhaowu, and were awarded the title of commanding the capital. Zhang Yunqi and Li Zude were added to the first level of Ningyuan Colonel, and were awarded the rank of staff general.
Li Wanqing, Yang Chengzu and Luo Rucai are temporarily stationed in Lanzhou.
Shi Xiang was dispatched by the Lintao brigade commander, and was under the jurisdiction of the central army and the left and right battalions. Zhang Yunqi and Li Zude served as the staff generals of the left and right battalions respectively.
Liu Chengzong attached great importance to the three surrendered generals Shi Xiang, Zhang Yunqi, and Li Zude. He called them to the palace and said: "I will give you the establishment of three standard battalions. Your top priority is to recruit troops from Lanzhou Guard."
There was ecstasy in the eyes of the three of them. They all already knew the size of the army in the Marshal's Mansion. Three standard battalions were 10,800 people, which meant that Liu Chengzong had no intention of giving them empty posts.
But then Liu Chengzong said the following words: "You have made great contributions to the commander-in-chief's capture of Lanzhou, so I grant you deputy generals and generals. Firstly, it is a reward, and secondly, it is also to use according to your talents. How to use them according to their talents."
?"
The three of them looked at each other with awe on their faces.
How do generals measure their talents? Of course, they are created by fighting. There is no doubt that these establishments are not given for free. They are going to the battlefield.
Shi Xiang cupped his fists and said: "Commander, please give me the order. Where do you want to attack in a humble position?"
"Didao County, Hezhou, Jin County, and Weiyuan County, I want you to at least capture the entire Lintao Prefecture. If you still have strength left, continue to march towards Gongchang Prefecture."
Liu Chengzong said it very lightly: "The banner troops of the three guards of Lintao, Hezhou and Lanzhou should be enough for you to complete the establishment. Are there any difficulties?"
There was no problem with this mission for Shi Xiang. He knew Liu Chengzong’s intentions very well. This was a certificate of submission.
By attacking the city of Lintao Prefecture as surrendered generals, they eliminated the possibility of false surrender. From now on, they could only follow the path of the Marshal's Mansion until death.
Shi Xiang naturally had no difficulty. He and Zhang Yunqi held more than 2,000 troops of the original Lanzhou Battalion, and they could also suppress Li Zude with the tiger skin of the Marshal's Mansion. In his opinion, it might be a fierce battle to capture the two guard posts, but
To measure the strength of the enemy and ourselves, no single guard post is their opponent.
On the other hand, General Zhang Yunqi looked troubled. What he was thinking about was that the imperial court owed the Lanzhou Camp several months of unpaid wages.
Of course, this does not mean that the officers and soldiers have no money. King Su did provide them with salary assistance, but assistance is assistance, and arrears are arrears. He wanted Liu Chengzong to mention the treatment of Lanzhou Camp.
After all, he knew in his heart that although the troops of Liu Chengzong's Marshal's Mansion were all rebels, the rebels were also divided into three, six, and nine ranks. Before the Marshal's Mansion paid them, they had no idea which level of troops they belonged to.
But he did not dare to openly ask Liu Chengzong for money, so he had no choice but to say: "Commander, it is not difficult to capture the city. It's just that the imperial court owes the Lanzhou Battalion a few wages. The morale of the sergeants is not high. If they want to attack the city again, how can the commander-in-chief's government do it?"
Will you send another general to lead the army to hold the battle for us?"
Liu Chengzong broke up his family in Lanzhou to make money for this reason. Hearing this, he smiled and said: "Go back and tell the sergeants in the camp that the imperial court owes them military pay and food. It has nothing to do with me, but since you have surrendered to me, Liu Chengzong, before sending troops, all Lintao Brigade members agreed
As a first-class official, each person will be rewarded three months of salary and two months of food."
"You will win the battle and attack, and Liu will be rewarded for his merits. Until the Lintao brigade replenishes its troops, you can tell Hezhou and Lintao two banner troops that all those who voluntarily surrendered to the Marshal's Mansion before the war will be given first-class materials.
According to the official regulations, he will be rewarded with three months of salary and silver, and two months of food and shelter."
This reward bank does not provide much food, because the military honors of the Marshal's Mansion are divided into three levels and nine grades. The lowest grade is the military officer, and the second and third grade of the military officer are new recruits who do not receive any military pay. p>
Even for a first-class talent officer, his monthly salary is only three coins and his monthly food is six dou.
However, this is enough to make Shi Xiang and others overjoyed. The Banner Army is not as good as this treatment. As long as they have this promise, they can capture Lintao Guard and the Hezhou Guard's war will go much smoother.
"But I'll start with the ugly news. The imperial court can't provide enough food and pay to the sergeants, and there's nothing to do about the deterioration of military discipline. The military law of the Commander-in-Chief's office should be the same as the imperial court's military law, except that donkeys, mules and horses killed in battle can be eaten by the sergeants.
Liu never defaults."
"So if anyone violates military law, then he is disregarding my face, Liu Chengzong, and improving military discipline. Military law has never meant killing people."
Liu Chengzong looked at the three of them and said: "It's because someone insisted on hitting the road to death."
The three of them felt awe-struck after being told that, and hurriedly resigned and returned to the camp to rectify military discipline. They were all very aware of the problems with military discipline among the sergeants in their camp.
For the officers and soldiers of this period, it was good if the troops could stay in the camp and not cause trouble. If they were released to kill people, they would inevitably do some nonsense. If the food and pay were insufficient, the generals would not have the confidence to speak, and military law would not be able to restrain the troops well. Not long after they left, news came from Dongguan that Xie Erhu was asking for help. The imperial court sent an army from the direction of Gansu into the Zhuanglang Valley. After learning about the fall of Lanzhou, they immediately stepped up their march and surrounded Zhuanglang.
Acropolis.
Liu Chengzong couldn't help but laugh when he read the letter asking for help: Hong Chengchou had noticed Lanzhou.