In mid-September, Zhao Hongrun led 5,000 Yanling troops and passed through the south of Wangwu Mountain again.
I remember that he also passed through this area when he went to northern Xinjiang last year, which was in August or September last year.
"This battle has been going on for a year..."
Zhao Hongrun sighed secretly.
He didn't want to estimate how much financial resources the Wei State had invested in this battle, because he believed that it must be an astronomical figure that made him so sad that he couldn't sleep at night.
But he has no regrets, because in his opinion, this battle must be fought and must be won.
The situation in the world today is completely different from that of five years ago.
At that time, Qi State still had Mingjun Lu Xi. Due to Zhao Hongzhao's relationship, Qi King Lu Xi formed an alliance with Wei State to share the pressure from South Korea and Chu State for Wei State. But now, Qi King Lu Xi has passed away.
Wei can no longer rely on Qi to share the pressure and can only rely on itself.
This is both a challenge and an opportunity for Wei. As long as it can overcome this hurdle, Wei may be able to replace Qi's former position in the Central Plains and become the dominant power in the Central Plains.
"It would be great if King Lu Xi of Qi could live another five years, no, three more years..."
Zhao Hongrun sighed secretly.
King Lu Xi of Qi was a powerful ally. His death not only directly led to civil strife in Qi, but also caused Wei to miss a rare period of peace.
If King Lu Xi of Qi had not died on the way to attack Chu, then South Korea would not have dared to attack Wei.
Don't think that the outbreak of this war will be beneficial to Wei just because Wei won this battle. In fact, Wei just won a miserable victory.
In the first battle of Northern Xinjiang, the Wei State invested six armies: the First Northern Army, the Second Northern Army, the Third Northern Army, the Wei Wu Army, the Shanyang Army, and the Southern Yan Army, with a strength of 300,000. They fought for more than half a year, and both sides were equally divided.
In the Second Battle of Northern Xinjiang, King Su's Army, also composed of about 100,000 men, replaced the First Army of the North. Therefore, it also had nearly 300,000 troops and fought for more than a full year.
In other words, Wei State used 300,000 troops to fight South Korea for a full year and a half, almost two years. During this period, the extent of food, salary, pensions, and consumption can be imagined.
This does not include the "Battle of Wei-Qin Sanchuan" in which Zhao Hongrun led 100,000 King Su troops to resist Qin's 200,000 troops in Sanchuan.
And if King Lu Xi of Qi was still alive, this war might have been avoided. In other words, the Wei State could invest the funds consumed in this battle into domestic construction, which I believe would surely make the Wei State's basic national strength improve by leaps and bounds.
Of course, this was just Zhao Hongrun's idle thoughts on the way to Fenyin.
"Qin in the west is rising rapidly, Han in the north is still strong, Chu in the south has put down the Qu family rebellion, and I don't have much time left for the Wei Dynasty..."
When discussing the situation in the world with Kou Zheng, Zhao Hongrun said rather worriedly.
After listening to Zhao Hongrun's words, Kou Zheng remained silent.
Once upon a time, he still thought that his country of Wei was peaceful and peaceful, just like life in Shangcheng. It was not until he heard Zhao Hongrun's unreserved words that he realized that the reason why his country of Wei was peaceful was because of the hundreds of thousands of people living in it.
The soldiers of Ji Ji went to the battlefield in exchange for it.
For example, His Royal Highness King Su next to him participated in the "Battle of Qi, Lu, Wei, and Yue against Chu", "Battle of Wei, Qin, Sanchuan," and "Battle of Northern Frontier of Wei and Han" within three years. All the soldiers of King Su under his command were in
A warrior who has been through thick and thin on dozens of battlefields.
It is precisely because the Wei State has this powerful army guarding Shangshui County, guarding the southern border of Wei State, and frightening the Chu State that the Chu State, like Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, Xiong Wu, Lord of Guling, and other Chu masters dare not easily attack.
Thinking of this, Kou Zheng couldn't help but look at Zhao Hongrun a few more times.
"Why does Lord Kou look at me like this?" Zhao Hongrun noticed Kou Zheng's gaze and asked curiously.
Kou Zheng smiled awkwardly, and then explained with some apology: "Xiaguan was just surprised... Five years ago, Xiaguan had the honor to meet His Highness. At that time, His Highness King Su seemed to be deliberately targeting the official of the Ministry of Personnel. Luo Rong, Luo Wenzhong’s son?”
After hearing this, Zhao Hongrun suddenly realized that he couldn't help but laugh.
Who would have thought that His Highness the Eighth Prince, who used his right to be a prisoner to deliberately target Luo Rong, the imperial concubine, and ordered the imperial guards to strip off his clothes five years ago, would be able to command an army of 100,000 and be famous among Chu, Han, and Qin in five years?
I believe that even Emperor Wei had not guessed it, so he happily told Concubine Shen Shu and Concubine Wu Guifei about the misdeeds of a certain son back then. The contrast between before and after is so great that it is unbelievable.
At this time, Kou Zheng hesitated for a moment and asked in a low voice: "His Royal Highness King Su, I have something unclear about this official. Can you please help me clarify my doubts?"
"Excuse me, Master Kou." Zhao Hongrun said with a smile.
Kou Zheng glanced around, then lowered his voice and asked Zhao Hongrun a rather sensitive question: "Why doesn't His Highness want to fight for the big position?"
Zhao Hongrun's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but think of some bad things.
After all, he has always made it clear that he will not compete for the throne, which is why talented people like Luo Yao, Zhou Ming, Zhang Qigong, Liu Jie and others have defected to other princes.
"Is this Kou Zheng one of them?"
Zhao Hongrun frowned slightly and looked at Kou Zheng for a long time, and finally decided to tell him frankly: "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Perhaps, I am not ready to shoulder the heavy burden."
When he said these words, he couldn't help but think of his father.
In his opinion, to become the king of Wei, he must devote his life to the entire country like his father and be trapped in the prison of Chui Gong Hall for the rest of his life - anyone who cannot make such a realization is not worthy. Become a king!
"If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight..." Kou Zheng murmured these words from Zhao Hongrun with a solemn look on his face.
It is undeniable that although Zhao Hongrun has high popularity, his reputation among the government and the public has always been poor. To put it simply, the government and the public recognize the achievements of King Su Zhao Hongrun, but keep a distance from his character.
For example, "He went to Huajie and Liuxiang for the first time to hang out", "Deliberately made things difficult for Luo Rong in the examination room", "Hit Zheng Jin, the nephew of Li Jin, the Prime Minister of the Military Casting Bureau", "Kicked Chao Wendong, the chief of the general's palace" Drainage, etc. etc.
It is no exaggeration to say that in addition to enjoying high prestige among the people and the military, Zhao Hongrun also had a very good reputation in the court and aristocratic circles, even among the princes and aristocrats of his Ji Zhao family. So bad, many people even privately scolded him for cheating - he was obviously a direct descendant of the Ji Zhao family, but he valued the common people more than the nobles.
Of course, Zhao Hongrun's reputation in the aristocratic circle has increased slightly in the past two years, because the third uncle Zhao Laiyu recruited a group of nobles to speak for him, and finally took off Zhao Hongrun's reputation as "an alien among the royal nobles". No, As for being hostile to the nobles of the country again.
It is precisely for these reasons that when Kou Zheng first came into contact with the deeds of Su Wang Hongrun, except for the indelible meritorious service of the Chu Kingdom, the rest of his deeds were full of misdeeds. For example, Zhao Hongrun's great-uncle Zhao Tairu is still alive today.
He spared no effort to discredit Zhao Hongrun and called him a clan traitor who has no respect for his elders - this is a very cruel statement.
It is precisely because of this that when he heard Zhao Hongrun say the words "If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight" with a solemn expression, Kou Zheng was moved by it and felt that all his previous understanding of His Royal Highness, Prince Su, was completely wiped out.
subversion.
Seeing that Kou Zheng didn't respond for a long time, Zhao Hongrun felt slightly uneasy and couldn't help but probe: "Will Master Kou's question affect Master Kou's decision?"
"Ah?" Kou Zheng was stunned for a moment, then after he came to his senses, he shook his head and said, "It's just out of curiosity..." As he said, he changed the subject: "Xiaguan listened to solemn words two days ago.
His Highness the King said that among the four cities along the east and west (west) of the river, Fenyin and Puban are the most important. Can His Highness King Su please elaborate?"
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun felt secretly happy, because Kou Zheng's words were clearly hinting to him, and it was self-evident as to what he was hinting at.
Holding back the joy in his heart, Zhao Hongrun pondered for a moment and said seriously: "From the geographical distribution of Fenyin and Puban, it can be understood that Fenyin is the 'sword', the sharp sword that enables the expansion of our Wei Dynasty's territory to the west;
The Pu Ban is a "shield", which protects the two counties of Hedong and Sanchuan."
To be honest, this is just Zhao Hongrun's division of labor between the two cities, which is subjective. In fact, except for the difference in location, Fenyin and Puban have almost the same conditions.
However, after learning about "Wu'an", a Korean military town and capital in Handan County, Zhao Hongrun suddenly felt that the construction of Fenyin and Puyang could learn from this idea.
Based on this idea, Zhao Hongrun decided to build "Puban" as a defensive city. He built land defense facilities along the river, equipped with repeated crossbows, "Pubanjin" building ships, and large warships.
Replaced to facilitate blockade of large rivers during war.
As for Fenyin, Zhao Hongrun plans to build it as an offensive city. The water and land defenses can be relatively weak, and the warships are mainly small and medium-sized warships with shallow drafts. After all, in the Hexi and Hetao areas, the Qiang and Hu have not dug river channels.
, so the draft of some waterways is very shallow, and if a large ship from the Wei State, borrowed from the Chu State's tower ship, enters, it is likely to be stranded.
All in all, Puban focuses on water and land building defense, while Fenyin focuses on the elite garrison. This is Zhao Hongrun's current preliminary idea.
In order for this plan to be implemented smoothly, Zhao Hongrun was even considering turning Anyi into a fiefdom for his younger brother Huan Wang Zhao Hongxuan. After all, if he was not in Hedong, even if Kou Zheng had already served as the guard of Fenyin City at that time, he might not be able to withstand those who heard the news.
The domestic nobles who came here, and Zhao Hongxuan could do it, because Zhao Hongxuan was now a military leader with tens of thousands of troops in his hands, so his words naturally carried more weight than before.
His only concern at the moment was that although he recommended Kou Zheng to the imperial court as the magistrate of Fenyincheng, the imperial court might not agree to this.
It's not because of anything else, it's just because Kou Zheng is too junior.
Although Kou Zhengnai was the top one on the gold medal list in the 16th year of Hongde's reign, his decision to return to Shangxian County to serve as county magistrate seemed to Zhao Hongrun to be a self-destructive move - to serve as a county magistrate in a mountain town like Shangxian County with only a few dozen residents.
No matter how outstanding the order is, it will inevitably be ignored by the court, because Shang County is so small and remote that the court does not even know that there is such a county.
As for Fenyin City, as the Wei State and South Korea signed the "Wei-Han Handan Peace Agreement", and after confirming the diplomatic proposition of the Korean army sending troops to capture Hexi for Wei State, Fenyin City's status was immediately elevated along with the other three cities.
Not surprisingly, Wei's "Hexi Strategy" will rely heavily on Fenyin and other four cities in the future.
Under such circumstances, even Zhao Hongrun was not sure whether Kou Zheng could be appointed as the Fenyin Order.
Even if he has not returned to Daliang at this moment, he can guess that the "Fenyin Order", "Puban Order" and other county orders in the four cities along the river in the east of the river, including the "Hexi Order" where there are no signs yet, will inevitably
It has become the target of competition among the domestic aristocratic forces.
Perhaps for the Wei State, the Qiang Hu in Hexi were a foreign race that should not be underestimated, but for the domestic aristocratic forces who were accustomed to following the court to pick up bargains, the Qiang Hu in Hexi meant huge wealth because there were abundant cattle and sheep.
horses, and Qiang and Hu people who can be used as slaves.
If it were five years ago, Zhao Hongrun would definitely not be able to accept this kind of thing - he was planning painstakingly on the front line, all just to make Wei more powerful, while the aristocratic forces in the country were following him like rogues.
Cheap.
But now, Zhao Hongrun has gradually learned to accept it, because he is unable to resist. The huge aristocratic power of the Wei State is always something that he has no power to resist with a hundred thousand soldiers. This has been proved as early as the Sanchuan trade incident.
Unless one day Zhao Hongrun ascends the throne and follows the example of King Xiong Xu of Chu, who eradicated the disobedient aristocratic forces in the country at great cost.
However, as Zhao Hongrun himself said, "If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight." However, he is not yet ready to wear the crown, nor has he made the awareness in this regard.
In this case, compromise with the domestic aristocratic forces is inevitable.
Therefore, after careful consideration, Zhao Hongrun decided to hold on to the "Fenyin Order" and "Puban Order" as much as possible, as well as the "Beiqu" to guard against the "Lishi Han Army" in Xihe. As for "Pishi City", due to the
Its strategic position could be replaced by the two cities of Fenyin and Puban, so Zhao Hongrun planned to give it up as a compromise to the domestic aristocratic forces.
As for the "Hexi Order", Zhao Hongrun doesn't think about it for the time being.
Of course, he would never hand over the "Hexi Order" to the domestic nobles. God knows what those people would do in Hexi. After all, Zhao Hongrun's attack on the Qiang and Hu was not to push them into complete opposition.
"Hexi Ling can delay for a while and let Kou Zheng secure his position as Fenyin Ling..."
Zhao Hongrun thought secretly.
But how to let Kou Zheng, a relatively inexperienced person, secure his position as Hexi Ling?
Zhao Hongrun thought hard.
I don't know how long it took, but something moved in his mind, and he suddenly came up with an excellent idea: to separate Fenyin's military and political affairs.
That is to say, in Fenyin, in addition to having a Fenyin Ling, there is also a commander-in-chief in charge of the troops - the Fenyin Ling is responsible for everything in the city, and the commander-in-chief is responsible for entering the west of Tuhe River and Hetao.
It is undeniable that this is indeed an excellent idea. I believe that after Zhao Hongrun puts forward this suggestion, the imperial court may reluctantly recognize Kou Zheng as the Fenyin Order.
But this raises another question: Who is in charge of the Fenyin garrison?
But this problem did not stump Zhao Hongrun, because he immediately thought of a trustworthy commander--Lintao Lord Wei Ji!