Chapter 2 Spreading Wings (Part 1) In terms of personal bravery, Marshal Luo Cheng has rarely encountered an opponent since he was fourteen years old. However, many things in this world cannot be solved simply by force. Just when he was angered by the uncooperative attitude of the people of Hejian County
When I was furious, another shocking news came from the south. Dou Jiande, the leader of Hebei Green Forest who once had an sworn feud with the Boling Army, sent his troops north. The troops did not point at the six counties where Li Xu belonged, but went straight to the river.
Louwu and Raoyang on the south side of the county!
If Luo Cheng led the Youzhou army across the Hutuo River to attack Boling as originally planned, even if the powerful men in Hejian County did not stab him in the back, his food route would have been cut off by Dou Jiande's troops. Once he took the initiative to go south to attack Dou Jiande, he would have been
Zhao Ziming, who had advanced to the west bank of the Hutuo River, would unceremoniously strike at the waist of the Youzhou Army.
This was a situation that the Youzhou Army had not expected before the expedition. Luo Cheng could not act on his own, so he had to ask his commander for countermeasures. When the messenger arrived at the main force of the Youzhou Army, Huben General Luo Yi had just returned from outside Yixian City. "Dou Jiande replaced him."
It's impossible for the Boling Army to come forward!" Without bothering to wipe the sweat off his face, he grabbed the military newspaper from the courier's hand and roared loudly.
But the reality is so absurd. In the military newspaper, his son Luo Cheng not only described the details of the rivalry between Dou Jiande's bandits and Zhao Ziming's Boling Army, but also attached a copy of the report sent by Dou Jiande, the general manager of the pseudo Heshuo, to various places.
In the article, Dou Jiande, the leader of the bandits who had killed countless people, loudly condemned Luo Yi for starting a war when Li Xu's body was still cold and showing off his military power by bullying orphans and widows. Dou Jiande wanted to uphold justice and drive the Youzhou army away.
Go back to your hometown and 'protect' the hard-won stability in Hebei!
"When did Dou become the chief steward of Heshuo? Who issued the seal to him? How many thieves in Hebei died at the hands of Li? How embarrassed is he to stand up for Li?!" Luo
Yi held the military newspaper tightly, and the knuckles of his five fingers made a rattling sound. The letter made of paper was no match for the iron handle, and it was shattered into pieces in an instant. "You idiot!" He struggled to throw the military newspaper out of the window, and the summer wind blew the shreds of paper away.
into pale yellow butterflies, fluttering away one after another
No one could answer Luo Yi's question. Dou Jiande's act of proclaiming himself the Grand Controller of Heshuo was absurd, but Luo Yi, the Grand Controller of Youzhou, was also taken by force, and was no more legitimate than Dou Jiande's official position. As for Li Xu's former feud with the Hebei bandits.
It is not enough to be an obstacle to the alliance between the two families. At that time, Li Xu was an official, Gao Shida and others were thieves, and it was only natural for the officers and soldiers to fight against thieves. But now Dou Jiande has proclaimed himself an official. To a certain extent, he has become Li Xu.
His colleague Luo Yi led the troops to bully his colleague's widow, and Dou Jiande jumped out to become his enemy. He is morally impeccable!
"Where's Wang Cong? What did Wang Cong say?" Full of anger and nowhere to express his anger, Luo Yi turned back from the window, grabbed the messenger's neck and asked
"Commander, Wang Cong, the Prime Minister of Hejian County, said that Dou Jiande has a good heart and the court should appease him! As for the commander-in-chief being the general manager of Hebei and Youzhou, he is still considering it!" The messenger hesitated for a moment.
, decided to tell the truth.
"Old Immortal, I should really ask Cheng'er to uproot their Wang family!" Luo Yi threw away the messenger and roared, "I have been fighting for the country for decades, but in his eyes, I am not as good as a thief! His grandma,
Come here, please reply to Cheng'er for me and order him to implement the second plan. Anyone who refuses to cooperate will be killed! Anyone who disobeys the rules in disguise will be killed! Anyone who informed Boling and spoke for Dou Jiande will be killed by me!"
A series of "kill" words were yelled out, shocking the generals in the tent to turn pale. After following the coach for so many years, everyone had never seen him so angry. They wanted to give words to persuade, but they couldn't find the right words for a while. The powerful people from all over Hebei refused to obey.
In the final analysis, it was because he looked down upon his poor background that Luo Yi had been fighting for this for nearly thirty years, but the results had always been unsatisfactory.
"Commander, it would be better to write this letter later!" Zhuangwu General Liu Yifang stepped forward and whispered to comfort him. He could understand his coach's depressed mood at the moment, but killing could not solve all the problems.
The tree has big roots and deep roots. If you rashly uproot this family, the whole place will be severely damaged. The Youzhou Army is not a rogue bandit. After they conquer a piece of land, they need to establish effective management. They need the local government to provide supplies for the army and tax revenue for the treasury.
And by killing all those who refused to cooperate, there would be no available talent in the local area, and the soldiers' pay, military rations, and even armor and equipment would be nowhere to be found.
"You also think I'm being unreasonable, don't you? If we, the Youzhou Army, hadn't been working so hard on the fortress all these years, the Turks would have taken the blame for that shit family and wealthy family. We have done so much for them, how much do they need to say?
To be fair, he retreated one after another? Dou Jiande followed Gao Shida and massacred dozens of cities, and the severed heads could pile up in mountains. Now he has suddenly transformed and became the general manager of Heshuo! They still applauded and mediated for him! Since
So, let's just fight our way out first, and then put down the butcher's knife. Anyway, in their eyes, we are just like thieves!"
"Yes, we should have given them a happy one a long time ago. A toad with three legs is hard to find. There are plenty of people with two legs! I don't believe it. If you leave these big-headed people, no one will want to be an official!" No!
Waiting for others to speak, Cao Yuanrang couldn't wait to jump out and express his loyalty to the coach for more than half a month. He had made no achievements on the battlefield and his status was already in jeopardy, so he could only rely on some extraordinary means to please the coach, although this approach was very disappointing.
look down
"Being an official and being an official who will manage the place well and make our army worry-free are two completely different things! When new people are sent in, their eyesight will be darkened. It is impossible to take control of the place in less than half a year!" Liu Yifang ignored it!
Cao Yuanrang shouted and analyzed Luo Yi directly: "Nowadays, the influence of the imperial court can no longer cross the Yellow River. In the troubled times of the Yellow River, those families that have lasted for hundreds of years will definitely find a strong man to take refuge. As for what this strong man has done in the past, is he a general or a bandit?"
, they may not care about the current decline of the imperial court. For the long-term plan, the bandits must settle down and wipe out those who are fighting against them in the territory! To a certain extent, they have become officers and soldiers such as Dou Jiande now. He is in Qinghe and Plains.
The policies implemented in the two places are basically the same as those in Boling!"
"We in Youzhou don't have the conditions to farm and raise troops!" Luo Yi sighed, barely suppressing the anger in his heart, and killed all the non-cooperators. It was just his angry words that killed all those who refused to cooperate with him, and Hejian also
In a short period of time, he may be able to grab a lot of money and military rations, but in the long run, this is equivalent to treating himself as a bandit. The harmed people and powerful people will definitely flock to Dou Jiande and Li Xu's widow.
, as Liu Yifang faintly pointed out in his words, the original bandits turned into officers and soldiers, and became the place of justice in the eyes of the world!
"So the six counties of Hejian and Boling are very important to us. If we can keep these counties intact, it means that we have obtained the foundation for becoming a hegemony and smashed these counties. Even if we can include Hebei, our strength will still be
At this point, we may have to disperse our troops to suppress the rebellion. If someone takes this opportunity to invade, it will be very difficult for us to deal with it!" Liu Yifang thought for a while and continued to advise.
"Keep how many counties intact? The marshals treat each other with kindness. Are they willing to understand the marshal's difficulties?" Seeing Luo Yi's anger weakening, Cao Yuanrang had to slow down his voice. He knew that he did not compete with Liu Yifang.
Both in terms of military capabilities and the weight in Luo Yi's heart, the capital is not on the same level as the other party, so he has tried not to offend the other party verbally in recent times to avoid being jointly suppressed by the old generals.
"You can't generalize, divide, disintegrate, and figure it out slowly is the right way!" Liu Yifang shook his head and added in a low voice, "According to the general's opinion, the talents in each county are temporarily not used by the commander-in-chief because the commander-in-chief failed to show his ability.
If the power that impressed them surrenders to the commander-in-chief and brings disaster to the family, of course they will hesitate!"
"Hmph, look at the world, who is our opponent of the Tiger and the Ben Iron Cavalry!" Several young people were very unhappy with Liu Yifang's last words and retorted loudly.
Liu Yifang did not argue with them, he just smiled and glanced over the faces of Cao Yuanrang and others. Whenever he looked at someone, the young general lowered his head unnaturally, refusing to meet his eyes.
It is true that the cavalry was once invincible, but since the Huben cavalry crossed the Sanggan River, it has never fought a happy victory. Whether in the upper valley or in the river, the enemy's combat effectiveness is not as good as the cavalry.
The envoys were everywhere, forcing the soldiers of Youzhou to move even an inch!
"In the opinion of the veteran, the commander-in-chief should make some more concessions and increase the benefits promised to each family. If we can get local support, it will be of great help to us to stabilize Hejian and capture Boling!" Seeing Luo Yi's anger
Having been dissuaded by Liu Yifang, marching commander Shi Qinyong stepped forward and whispered suggestions.
Before sending their troops south, in addition to attacking with force, the soldiers of Youzhou also formulated another plan to manage Hebei, which was to contact powerful people from all over the country. They would take the initiative to remove Li Xu's remaining forces from the six counties of Boling.
If this plan can be successfully implemented, the Youzhou Army can almost defeat the enemy without a fight. After all, the company surnamed Li has only been operating in Boling for less than two years, and it is impossible for the foundation to be very stable.
This plan was initially rejected by Luo Yi. After repeated persuasion by Qin Yong, the Xue brothers, Liu Yifang and others, it was reluctantly passed. However, the conditions provided by Youzhou to the followers of the dragon were divided into counties, and were reduced to ensuring that their families
General Hu Ben Luo Yi looked down upon those who had done something famous and famous. His own experience told him that since the Five Hus, the great families north of the Yangtze River had long been razed by the Hus.
The so-called famous families are all fakes like the Li family, the Yang family and the Liu family. Going back three generations, you can find that Kou Dou Jiande, a descendant of the Daye family, the Pu Liuru family and the Huhanxie family, also claimed to be the descendant of Dou Gu, a famous official in the Han Dynasty.
Where are the descendants? Can you really dig out more than ten generations of the Dou family's ancestors from their coffins and confront him?
Luo Yi believes that the world should be for those with ability, not for blood. Regardless of their origins, the strong will always stand at the top and the heroes will build their achievements, while the mediocre will definitely obey. But the reality is that
, he made concessions and violated his own principles by sending lobbyists to the six counties of Boling to contact the powerful people. However, the other party looked coldly on Cui Qian, the governor of Shanggu County, and directly beheaded the envoy, wrapped his head in lime and sent him to
Wang Renjing, the former Shanggu County Governor of Boling, and Zhang Junming, the former Boling Governor, threw the letter and the gift out of the door, and cut off the messenger's five fingers as punishment. The current Boling County Governor Zhang Jiuyi was the most polite, accepted the gift, and met
The messenger then wrote a very gentle letter, stamped it with the magistrate's seal and sent it back. I don't know who leaked the news. The content of the reply letter spread throughout the streets and alleys of Boling that day.
"Zhang is the county guard of the Sui Dynasty. He is not the county guard of General Manager Li. He is the official of the country. He is not the official of General Li. General Li is returning to the west. However, Zhang still has his duties, so he does not dare to take over the appointment of Youzhou.
If the emperor grants Luo Gong six counties, Zhang should respond to the emperor's order. If Luo Gong threatens the emperor with military force, Zhang will have no choice but to fulfill his duty as a loyal minister!"
"This is simply a disguised expression of loyalty to the widow of the Li family!" After receiving Zhang Jiuyi's reply, everyone in Youzhou was trembling with anger. However, considering that the Zhang family is known as the heirloom of Bairen, the anger in their hearts calmed down.
Well said, the official position was awarded by the court, not by Li Xu, so he was not working for Li Xu, but for the court. If Luo Yi had the ability to get the court to recognize his control over the six counties, the Zhang family would never resist Luo Yi.
Under the rule of Yi, it is impossible for the Zhang family to serve as an internal support for the Youzhou Army!
"Do you think I can add any more benefits to the families of Cui, Zhang, Wang, and Liu?" The military defeat forced Luo Yi to give in to reality. He put down his body and sighed to ask his staff for advice.
"The current plan is to divide and disintegrate." Liu Yifang thought for a while and replied in a low voice, "If Luo Gong was willing to promise higher conditions from the beginning, the battle would not have to be so difficult." He felt sorry for the opportunity that had passed.
But he had to think of a remedy for the coach, "What those families did before, it cannot be ruled out that it was done to Mrs. Li, but if we don't give them enough benefits, they will not take risks for our family. First of all, Mrs. Li
She is the daughter of Duke Tang. They are too disrespectful to Mrs. Li, which may lead to revenge from the Li family in Hedong. Secondly, Boling's military power is in the hands of Zhao Ziming and Lu Qin. These two people were promoted by General Li.
He is so loyal that if others start a rebellion rashly, they are likely to be captured and killed by Lu and Zhao. Some of the wealthy families in the six counties have already turned to General Li. They have benefited from land reclamation and other activities in the past two years.
…….”
"Okay, Ziyi, I understand what you said!" The chief manager of Youzhou felt frustrated when he heard this. He waved his hand and interrupted Liu Ziyi's ramblings. "Just tell me, what can we do to take down the six counties as soon as possible?"
How much money does it cost, how much official position should be given to the other party, or should we just cede several counties to him? Like the Xue brothers did, let them rule one side and take charge of both the military and civilians!"
"Not only is there a question of how much benefit one can serve for the general, but several conditions must also be met!" Liu Yifang thought for a while and continued, "First, his family is not within the range of the military deterrence of Zhao Ziming and Lu Qin. Second,
His family suffered the third most damage in the New Deal implemented by General Li. His family has the ability to survive the rebellion in a short period of time, which in turn affects the entire strategic subordinates of the Boling Army. The fourth is that this person must be ambitious and courageous.
, and it needs to be cool enough!”
The generals in Youzhou looked at each other. Although they knew something about the enemy, they did not know the temper and character of every civil servant and general among them. Liu Yifang mentioned so many conditions and filtered them according to his standards. Everyone knew a few of them.
All the major families have been excluded, and how can some families with less influence withstand the full counterattack of the Boling Army?
"Well, cough, cough, cough!" Just as everyone was searching for a suitable person to instigate rebellion, the elder Shi Qinyong let out a violent cough. Time is not forgiving. He has followed Luo Yi for nearly thirty years, and he is now in his twilight years.
At this age, my body is not as good as that of young men, and I will be on the verge of collapse after a little exertion.
"Old Qin, please go down and have a rest. You don't need to worry too much about these little things!" Looking at Old Chang Shi's face, which looked as suffocated as a cooked crab, General Luo Yi warned with concern.
"Old, veteran thought, ahem, if, ahem, if we can't find a suitable candidate at the moment, why not, ahem, think about it in the long term, ahem, we must not act rashly again, ahem, let Boling take precautions!"
Qin Yong coughed and suggested
"Well, everyone, retreat to Yuan Rang first. You go and call the medical officer Zixiong. Your troops will continue to attack the city in the afternoon. You don't have to go all out, but don't give the Yixian defenders a chance to breathe!" Luo Yicong said the words of the elder Chang Shi.
He smelled some conspiracy, hesitated for a moment, and ordered
The generals were relieved and stood up to leave. They are all good materials for fighting. They are not good at conspiracy. They even care about bribery and incitement from the bottom of their hearts.