When King Li Zhi of Jin led his army to arrive near Huayin, he received the news of the fall of Hangu Pass. Especially when he heard that Hangu Pass did not put up much resistance and was captured by the navy in less than half a day, he was even more worried.
He originally expected Qiu Xinggong to be able to guard Hangu Pass and delay the navy for a few days, so that his side could move more calmly. However, Qiu Xinggong saw that it was useless. Not only did the city pass fall and he was captured, but also more than 10,000 people who had gone before him were taken prisoner.
The Shandong private troops who went to reinforce were also captured. When the news spreads among the army, it will inevitably shake the morale of the army and damage morale.
After the fall of Hangu Pass, Tongguan faced a fierce attack from the enemy on land and water, so it was only a matter of time before it fell.
At this point, the situation is no longer possible to recover, and the only way is to fight to the bitter end and win the battle.
If you don't succeed, you will become a benevolent person.
Looking at the flags fluttering on the left and right, the carriages and horses, and the mighty and murderous army of more than 100,000, Li Zhi's worries and frustrations were swept away, replaced by strong confidence and longing for a better future.
Facing Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji's suppression and persecution, and Emperor Gaozu's support for them, the situation my father faced was many times worse than it is now. But even in such a desperate situation, my father was still able to subdue the Guanlong clan.
After using it, he rose up to fight under the Xuanwu Sect and changed his fate against the will of heaven.
To counterattack in a desperate situation and succeed in a battle under everyone's pessimistic gaze, this is your destiny!
How do you know that my Li Zhi's destiny scroll is not as good as my father's?
Only when the iron armor under my command kills Chang'an and seizes it, will the world know my destiny!
…
The army marched all the way in a mighty manner. News from Guanzhong and Hangu Pass continued to gather and flow into the army. After passing Huayin, it was already dark. The army of more than 100,000 was a private army hastily formed by Shandong families and seriously lacked military regulations.
Military discipline dictates that once an emergency situation arises, it is very likely to lead to unpredictable dangers, so Li Zhi did not dare to march in a hurry at night, so he chose a place with sunny mountains and yin rivers, set up camp, and made fires and meals.
The night breeze was blowing, and the army camps of more than 100,000 people were like clouds, making it difficult to see from head to tail. Wind lanterns were hung all over the camp. Military law teams on horseback patrolled back and forth. Soldiers who violated military discipline were immediately arrested and severely punished.
In the Chinese army tent, Li Zhi, Xiao Yu, Chu Suiliang, and Cui Xin, who had just had dinner, were drinking tea. Cui Xin said worriedly: "The navy is so aggressive that it is chasing our tail. Now Hangu Pass has fallen.
Tongguan is in danger, and we are getting closer and closer to Chang'an. A war may break out at any time. I wonder if your highness has any good strategy to defeat the enemy?"
Although the Shandong family is on the side of Jin Wang Li Zhi, the situations faced by both sides are different.
For Li Zhi, from the moment he escaped from the Tai Chi Palace, he had already embarked on a road of no return where he would become a king or a bandit, and if he failed, he would become a benevolent person. The difference between victory and defeat was life and death, and there was no way to retreat. But the Shandong family was different.
Although they abandoned Li Chengqian and chose the Jin Dynasty, their fundamental purpose was to maximize their profits. Even if they faced failure, they would not lose the whole family. After all, Li Chengqian was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. If he wanted to be stable, he could not indulge.
Shandong is rotten. No matter how much the Shandong family hates them to the core, they still need to be appeased. Deep hatred can only be dealt with slowly.
But once Tongguan fell and the retreat was completely cut off, the Shandong family would have no choice but to follow the Jin king's path until death, and it would be impossible to retreat to Shandong.
After all, the private army composed of more than 100,000 young men has drained away the foundation accumulated by the Shandong family for hundreds of years. Once the entire army is wiped out, the consequences will be absolutely unbearable for these families, which means that the territory they have always regarded as their own.
The vast Shandong area will be completely out of their control.
A Shandong clan that could not control the Shandong region did not pose much fear or deterrence to the emperor.
Since there is no fear or deterrence, how can the emperor indulge them and be lenient to them?
Therefore, Cui Xin's face was very ugly. The Shandong family fully supported King Jin and were willing to take huge political risks with King Jin to gain greater political benefits. However, they suddenly found that they had been completely blackmailed by King Jin, and the fate of both parties was tied.
There is no distinction between each other in the same place. When we live, we live together, and when we die, we die together.
This makes Cui Xin extremely dissatisfied. We can bear huge punishment after your defeat and death, but we don’t want to die with you...
Li Zhi glanced at Cui Xin, took a sip of tea, and said calmly: "Where in the world is there any good strategy for victory? Throughout the ages, the outcome of every war is ultimately just that sentence. When the two armies meet,
The brave prevail."
In the past, he had tried every means to win over the powerful families in Shandong and Jiangnan, all he wanted was to use their power to strengthen himself, so as to complete his war to change his destiny.
Today, the Jiangnan family is on the verge of collapse and has been horribly bullied by the navy in Jiangnan. The Shandong family has completely stood on its own ship. It has no way out and no way to retreat, so there is no need to be flattering.
Take care of their mood?
"Don't worry, Mr. Cui, I am not a person who breaks his promise. As long as this battle is successful, there will be no compromise on the conditions he promised. Whether you can be promoted to an official or a noble title depends on both the feudal side and the feudal side. It only depends on whether you can go all out to make contributions.
On the day when his wish comes true, I will not hesitate to reward him."
These people must be made to realize their current situation. Now it is not only him, the King of Jin, who needs them to achieve his grand ambition and hegemony, but they themselves must also risk death and go through fire and water to strive for greater achievements.
There will be no pie in the sky, and efforts and gains are always equal.
Cui Xin was silent for a moment, then nodded and said: "Your Highness, don't worry. We, the heirs of poetry and calligraphy, know how to be loyal and righteous. Since we have decided to assist His Highness Zuo to achieve great things, we will definitely do our best and serve him to the death. There is absolutely no reason to give up halfway."
Li Zhi nodded happily and praised: "Mr. Cui understands the great righteousness, which is actually a blessing to the people of the empire. If you succeed in the future, Cui Gong should be the first to achieve success."
Cui Xin repeatedly said that he did not dare: "This is your highness's destiny, and we dare not take credit for it."
…
After appeasing the leader of the Shandong family, Li Chengqian looked at Xiao Yu and asked: "Although the Jiangnan family suffered heavy losses in Yanziji, after all, it has been inherited for thousands of years and has a deep foundation. As long as the situation is stabilized, it will definitely be able to fight back under the pressure of the navy.
Otherwise, if the navy is allowed to wreak havoc in the south of the Yangtze River and your foundation is shaken, even if I ascend to the throne in the future, I will be unable to help you rebuild your glorious consciousness."
Even if you suffered a disastrous defeat at Yanziji and your foundation was shaken, you can't just watch the navy unify the Yangtze River and go northward without any scruples at any time, right?
If you are really unwilling to give your best, I am afraid that the benefits you want will be greatly reduced if this king ascends the throne in the future...
Comforting and beating, promises and warnings, Li Zhi's power-playing tricks are at his fingertips and he is extremely talented.
Xiao Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, and said helplessly: "It is not because the families in the south of the Yangtze River are unwilling to fight to the death. The deterrent of the navy in the south of the Yangtze River is far beyond His Highness's imagination. Not only is the sea trade controlled by it, but also the impact of the continuous flow of food shipped to the Tang Dynasty.
The price of food in the south of the Yangtze River has caused a huge impact, which has made every household avoid doing anything without permission. I hope Your Highness can understand."
Maritime trade is single-handedly controlled by the navy. They do not allow anyone to play, and anyone who has it has to be excluded from the maritime trade system. The Municipal Shipping Department issues licenses, and the navy is responsible for escorting. Maritime merchants in the Tang Dynasty must lease from the navy in overseas countries.
The ports set up warehouses, report goods, and conduct trade. Every move and every aspect is under the surveillance of the navy. Anyone who dares to deal in prohibited items, disrupt the market, or evade taxes will be severely sanctioned and punished.
.
That's all. The worst that can happen is that everyone cuts off sea trade. Wasn't it the same life without sea trade in the past?
But food touches the foundation of the Jiangnan gentry and even all the clans.
What is the basis of valves?
One is education, and the other is land. In the final analysis, it still depends on land.
When aristocratic families control more and more land, they can control more and more people, and their political voice will naturally become more and more important. And the food produced by the land is the lifeblood of the country, and it is the lifeblood of the common people.
The basis of survival.
Since the navy leased ports with Annan, Linyi and other places and controlled their internal affairs, cheap food began to be continuously transported into the Tang Dynasty, which greatly alleviated the crisis of food shortage in the Tang Dynasty.
Until now, the price of grain transported by the Navy into Datang has been almost the same as domestically, which has maintained the domestic grain system.
But once the navy gave up making huge profits from food and instead imported food into the country at low prices, the first people to be affected were not ordinary people, but the wealthy families who occupied countless areas.
Because the most direct consequence of low food prices is the drop in land prices, which directly shrinks the wealth accumulated by aristocratic families for decades or even hundreds of years, or even cuts it in half. Who can bear this?
Throughout the ages, aristocratic families have arbitrarily manipulated the rise and fall of land prices and grain prices, constantly harvesting the wealth of the common people from the price differences, thereby achieving the purpose of annexing land, privately amassing people, and accumulating wealth. Once grain prices cannot be controlled, this system will
It will be fundamentally destroyed, and the foundation for the survival of the family will be completely lost.
In Guanzhong and Shandong, the clans may still be able to rely on their strong control to eliminate the losses caused by changes in food prices within their territories, but the Jiangnan gentry, which has an increasing population but a relatively shallow foundation, will suffer deeply.
Under such circumstances, even the Xiao family, which clearly supports the King of Jin, has secretly reached a series of agreements with the Navy in exchange for the Navy stabilizing the price of food in Jiangnan and ensuring the stability of Jiangnan. The other Jiangnan noble families do not have such deep support as the Xiao family.
The secrets can be manipulated at will by the navy master.
After losing countless young men in the battle of Yanziji, the foundation of each family was seriously shaken. Who dared to challenge the navy?
If it were the Navy, the person in question was still a person like Su Dingfang who was outstanding in military affairs but lacking in politics. There might still be some room for improvement, but now Fang Xuanling is sitting in Huating Town, holding the power of the Municipal Shipping Department with one hand and the military power of the Navy with the other.
All the families in the south of the Yangtze River have already been put in order...
Jiangnan is no longer the Jiangnan of the Jiangnan gentry.