ps: Thanks to Iron Man and Brother Eagle Zhou for the reward, thank you.
The battle between the Yan army and the allied forces of the princes on the Gaoping front line was becoming increasingly fierce. The soldiers of both sides fought repeatedly around key points such as Jiepailing, Xuanhu and Shizuitou, and each suffered numerous injuries. At the peak of the battle, there were more than 2,000 casualties in one day.
Zezhou City, thirty miles away from Jiepailing, is also busy. Because the city is not big, it cannot accommodate various princes. Only Liang Wang lives in the city, and hundreds of thousands of coalition troops are distributed outside the city. Large and small coalitions stretch for several miles.
Ten miles.
The deployment of the army, the deployment of various battalion headquarters, the replenishment of troops in the front, the consumption of food and supplies...the numerous affairs came one after another, making Jingxiang's mind swamped with work.
The subordinate officials in the King of Liang's account were headed by Jingxiang, Li Zhen, and Pei Di, each of whom had their own responsibilities. Li Zhen accompanied the King of Liang as military counselor and made suggestions, Pei Di lived in Bianzhou and took care of the rear, supplying military supplies, and Jingxiang was in charge of internal evacuation and planning.
Military and political affairs. Since the army was sent to Zelu, the three of them have hardly had a good night's sleep, especially Jingxiang, who now has dark circles under his eyes and has no time to comb his bun.
Mountains of documents were piled up in every corner of the room. Several large frames of order arrows and soldiers' symbols were placed on the huge table. Orders, sergeants, and civil servants came in through the water and quickly left. Several book offices were burying them on the small desks on both sides.
In this busy hall, Jingxiang held an official document in his hand and was silent in thought.
Starting from the end of July, grain and fodder from various states in Henan Province gathered in Zezhou, but the quantity gradually decreased. From the very stable 30,000 dan per ten days at the beginning, it reduced to 28,000 dan, and by the end of August it became 25,000 dan.
Thousand stones, but now, it has dropped sharply to thirteen thousand stones... If it hadn't been for the arrival of 130,000 stones of food from the southern princes last month, hundreds of thousands of troops would have started to starve today!
The official document in Jingxiang's hand was sent from Bianzhou and was handwritten by Pei Di, who was based in Bianzhou. Judging from the slightly scrawled handwriting and the slightly messy lines, Pei Di was filled with emotion when he wrote this official document.
How anxious and restless.
Pei Di couldn't help but feel anxious. The autumn harvest had been completed and at least more than two million dan of grain had been planned, but now only less than 600,000 dan had been collected. Where did the rest go? These grains are now being collected one after another.
After transporting Zezhou, the Zezhou granary will be gradually replenished within a month, allowing the army to survive until December, but that's it, what next?
Pei Di blamed himself in his handwritten official document. He admitted that he did not pay enough attention to this issue. When he started to collect food, he discovered that the amount handed in was wrong. Pei Di said that for this matter, he arrested some people who were not paying enough.
The landowners even severely punished several Jiedu officials, and finally figured out where the food was going.
Starting from September, every few days, a large group of grain ships would take advantage of the late night to go up the Bianhe River and enter the Yellow River, and actually went to Hebei! Pei Di said that he didn't believe it at first, but later he went to see it in person
After returning home, I figured out what was going on. The wealthy landowners in Henan, headed by the Yuan family and the Jiang family, purchased grain throughout Henan Province and sold it to Hebei at high prices. They had almost hollowed out Henan Province. It is said that Hebei opened a
They paid three times the price to take over the autumn grain. Driven by such high profits, everyone from senior officials in the royal palace to petty officials in prefectures and counties were crazy about it.
Pei Di said that the reason why he had been concealed for so long was because many of his staff and officials were involved in this matter. So far, twenty-seven people have been arrested for this, and each of them confessed under severe torture. Follow Pei Di
How many officials did Di stay in Bianzhou? The number is less than a hundred, but those involved in the case accounted for 30% in the past few days. From now on, it is uncertain how many people will be involved.
After taking down these officials, Pei Di's pressure also increased sharply. People who asked for mercy and begged for their release came in droves, some offered inducements, some implicitly threatened, some begged, and some
A lot of fun...
Jingxiang looked at the stack of bills attached at the back of the official document. This was part of the gift money Pei Di received. They were all "arrears agreements" issued by "Henan United Bank" and were commonly known as "flying bills". The largest one was
The amount was "a debt of one thousand guan", and the smallest one was also a "debt of ten guan". After counting, the total amount of this pile of bills alone exceeded 10,000 guan!
Pei Di didn't explain these bills too much, and Jingxiang didn't quite understand the extent of circulation of these things in the states of Henan Province. If he had been distracted for a while, he might not have been so negligent. Since the second half of last year, in Yuan
With the support of many wealthy families such as the Jiang family and the Henan United Bank, Youyan United Bank established a large-scale presence in various states in Henan Province under the name of "Henan United Bank". The "flying tickets" issued by it are reputable and extremely practical. The meaning of this is,
It's not something Pei Di and Jingxiang can guess.
So far, the two of them have not been able to figure out the potential relationship between "flying tickets" and "selling grain to Hebei", but the latter is a real and huge problem.
Pei Di also said that in addition to the officials from the Liang Prince's Mansion, the original Xuanwu Jiedu Mansion, there should be many people involved in the government offices of various states in Henan Province. He estimated that this is a quite large system. But after Pei Di arrived, there was nothing he could do
Continue to investigate, because many prefectures and counties in Henan Province have been enfeoffed by King Liang, and the original upper and lower systems are in chaos. Many provincial governors and county magistrates are busy trying to make a fortune, because they do not know that they will
Where to go to take office...
Although there was no way to continue the investigation, Pei Di still mobilized troops to blockade the Bianhe River waterway to prevent grain ships from continuing to transport northward. However, he was very worried and said that this blockade density would probably not achieve the desired results because he
It is also unclear whether any of the officers responsible for blocking the river were involved in this matter.
Pei Di finally said that in order to prevent officials from committing fraud, he had strictly ordered that all the collected grain be shipped immediately and sent to the army, otherwise he would not dare to guarantee the safety of the grain.
In the official document, Pei Di did not say many things clearly, but the problems were exposed and struck Jingxiang's already tired heart like a heavy hammer.
It is an indisputable fact that the Yuan family, the Jiang family, and even more wealthy families are involved in liaison with the enemy. However, the reason why Pei Di does not talk about the issue of accountability is because even Jingxiang understands that this matter involves too much.
Big. Not to mention the relationship between the Yuan family and the Jiang family and the King of Liang. At present, Yuan Xiang is currently guarding Xiangwei. This is the only place in Henan that borders Hebei. Under Xiangwei, separated by a river, there are Huazhou, Zhengzhou and Huaizhou.
, the three states formed a line, covering Bianzhou. Who commanded the troops and horses of these three states? It was Jiang Xuanhui!
This is a matter that affects the whole body. Once Yuan Xiangxian and Jiang Xuanhui change, Bianzhou's old nest will not be saved. How can we talk about wiping out Hebei and ruling the world?
From what we have learned, it is true that the Yuan family, the Jiang family and even many wealthy families lost food because of their greed for money, causing a shortage of food in front of the army. However, from a willing point of view, Jingxiang would rather believe that they did not really
The thought of turning to the King of Yan. When they arrived in Hebei, what high-ranking officials and generous salaries could the King of Yan win over them? Could they be more noble than being with the King of Liang? Jingxiang thought that they should understand this.
Even if there is to be punishment, it should be done after the war and should not be made too obvious for the time being.
Jingxiang's worries come from another aspect. It can be seen from Pei Di's official documents that the officialdom of Henan Province is rotten. If not all of it is rotten, at least half of it is rotten. Whether this problem is caused by the feudal state or
It's caused by property. Jingxiang doesn't have time to take care of it at the moment. As I said before, he can just put it in order after the war.
The last issue is military rations, which is the most urgent matter at present. According to Pei Di, 600,000 shi of grain is the last sum that can be raised at present. If you want to find it again, you can only plunder it from wealthy families, and
The top wealthy families, such as Jiang and Yuan, and the ordinary small and medium-sized landowners have sold their surplus grain. Unless they ransack their homes and exterminated their families, they would not be able to get even a grain of grain. When there is an opportunity for a war, can the rear be in chaos? I'm afraid with the killing of King Liang
You have to think carefully before making a decisive decision.
Another way is to continue to urge the southern princes to transport food. There is more food in the south and it is harvested twice a year. There is plenty of food there. But even if we start now, we will not be able to reach the army in more than a month or two, and the losses on the road are too heavy.
, transporting 100,000 dan of grain to the front of the army for 30,000 dan is considered good.
The most important thing is that King Liang paid a lot of money last time he asked them to lose food. What benefits should they get this time?
These questions made Jingxiang think so hard that his hair was almost pulled out, and he finally had to come to see Prince Liang in person.
Just as Jingxiang expected, after hearing the report, King Liang quickly gave the answer. The former Duke Yuan Xiang was granted the title of Marquis of Kaiguo County. He was granted the title of Marquis of Kaiguo County in the south of Yingchuan. He lived in Xiacai and was named Marquis of Cai; the Duke Jiang Xuanhui was granted the title of Marquis of Kaiguo County.
, to enfeoff the country to Fangcheng is to be called Fanghou. The two of them will be in the country within two months, and there will be no delay.
This is a good way to deal with it. It is the same as what Jingxiang planned. However, the relationship between the two and Prince Liang is too close. One is Prince Liang’s nephew and the other is Prince Liang’s die-hard brother. Jingxiang can’t tell.
It can only be said by King Liang himself.
King Liang simply ignored the overall corruption of officials in Henan Province and did not express his position on it. However, Jingxiang could see from his clenched hands that after the war, the lives of these officials were very worrying.
As for the problem of food shortage, King Liang pondered for a moment and asked Jingxiang what to do.
Jingxiang said slowly: "Food can support the army until December, but His Highness knows that we cannot fight until December. If there is a change, the whole army will collapse. Even if we can really win in December, there is nothing we can do."
If we continue to support it, all the victories won will be meaningless. Therefore, it is advisable to attack quickly and end the war at the end of October! At that time, the princes from all parties will be sent back, and the army will be reduced to 200,000, so that the military supplies can be maintained until February next year.
Month, the remaining grain can only be requisitioned locally from Hebei."
After hearing this, King Liang was silent for a moment, then veins popped up on his forehead, he punched the case, and said "Okay" in a deep voice!
With the strict order of King Liang, the war suddenly accelerated, and the intensity of the fighting between the two sides suddenly increased to a higher level. Starting from the first day of October, with Liang Jun as the main force, the coalition forces of the princes cooperated with each other, gathering more than 100,000 soldiers, and attacked the world for days.
Pailing, hanging pots, and stone mouths are all lined up. The shouts of killing are loud, and fireworks fill the fields. At every moment, hundreds of soldiers from both armies fall on this battlefield that is no more than ten miles long. (To be continued.