It was already early April when Han Bao, Huo Li, and Wang Che escorted Princess Yunhe Zhu Xi, Shen Peng, and Zhao Ci across the Huaihe River and entered the defense area under the jurisdiction of Tangyi.
Although the temperature has not yet become hot, the entire Jianghuai land has entered the early summer season, with extra abundant rain and strong water on the Huaihe River.
The earth embankment built by the former dynasty on the south bank had long been abandoned. When Han Bao and the others crossed the Huaihe River, they could only see scattered mounds of broken earth in the vast swamp, and could still vaguely see the shadow of the old embankment.
It was only early April, and the rainy season had not yet officially entered. After asking around, everyone learned that there had been several heavy rainstorms in the past few days, causing flooding on the south bank of the Huaihe River in late spring and early summer.
At this time, except for Wenbo's troops who were besieging Luoshan City, the Shouzhou Army successively abandoned the central and southern hinterlands of Guang, Huo, Shou and other prefectures, and withdrew across the board to Qisi, Huoqiu, Shou and other states close to the south bank of the Huaihe River. Prefectures and other places, some troops also withdrew to the north bank of the Huaihe River and occupied Yingzhou and Qiaozhou.
Now the hinterland of Liang Kingdom is in chaos. Not to mention that the Shouzhou Army was forced to shrink its defense line and give up the southern hinterland of Huo and Shouzhong. It has an urgent need for military supplies and food. Even if it can hold Huaixi at this time and has sufficient food and grain, At this time, he sent troops to occupy the southern areas of the Liang Kingdom such as Ying and Qiao. After Liang Emperor Zhu Yu pacified the rebels, he could still argue that he was consolidating the defense of the areas where Qiao, Ying and other troops were empty and preventing the rebels from going south.
Whether or not Yingqiao and other places should be given up in the end depends on whether the central troops and horses are strong or not.
After the left and right armies of Tangyi Zhifu took over a total of twelve counties including Haozhou, central and southern Huozhou and central and southern Shouzhou, as well as Le'an and Huangzhou in the east of Guangzhou, they did not immediately send troops to attack Shouzhou on the south bank of the Huaihe River. Shouzhou, Huoqiu, Qisi, Fengtai and other important military towns under the control of the state army launched an offensive, but the harvest was already extremely fruitful.
This time, fundamentally speaking, there was a serious turmoil in the Liang Kingdom. Tangyi regained Huailing, and Linhuai and other twelve counties could be said to have gained something for nothing.
Even though the Shouzhou Army was in chaos and had to retreat in a hurry, the achievements of Han Bao, Huo Li, Wang Che and others could already be said to be quite dazzling.
Not to mention the achievements of several of them, how far-reaching and huge their impact was on Heshuo and the entire Central Plains region. Only for the Tangyi Army at this time, without them sending back accurate news in time, Linhuai and Zhongli would be The two cities on the Huaihe River are most likely still under the control of the Shouzhou Army or the Hejin Army at this time; at the same time, it is impossible for Han Qian to get ahead of the Xiangbei Army and let Kong Xirong lead his troops to take over Le'an first. The two cities of Huangchuan.
Perhaps in the vast Huaixi region, if Han Qian manages the northeastern and northern slopes of Huaiyang Mountain, he will already have a commanding geographical advantage. It does not necessarily depend on the gains and losses of three or four cities, but controlling four more cities is more important. There are more than 200,000 households near the city, and it has since become a household under the rule of the Tangyi government.
In Huaixi, which is vast and sparsely populated and full of barren land, population is far more important than occupying an extra two or three hundred miles of land.
At present, the areas bordering the Huaihe River in the northern parts of Huozhou and Shouzhou are still under the control of the Shouzhou Army. Xu Mingzhen also took advantage of the Zuolou Boat Army's control of the middle and upper reaches of the Huaihe River to force the households in these areas to move to the north bank of the Huaihe River. Yingqiao and other places were able to relocate more than 200,000 Dingkou along the coast. However, Tangyi gained something for nothing and added more than 500,000 Dingkou. In fact, the scale of the military and civilian control of Tangyi Zhifu in Huaixi was directly affected. It has doubled, surpassing Huaidong and Xiangbei for the first time, ranking first among the three towns on the northern line.
Throughout March, Tangyi's left and right armies and the Metropolitan Government were in high gear and were busy carrying out various takeover matters.
Before Han Bao and Huo Li crossed the Huaihe River, they came into contact with the scouts and horses from Tangyi. After crossing the Huaihe River, they were directly escorted by a group of soldiers and horses to Shoudong.
Shoudong is located 70 miles southeast of Shouzhou, 140 miles south of Chaozhou City, and 40 miles north of Fengtai, another Huaibin city controlled by the Shouzhou Army at this time. Han Qian currently sets up his tent here.
.
Whether it is a follow-up attack on Shouzhou, Fengtai and other cities, or suppressing the Shouzhou army along the Huaihe River and preventing them from going south, Shoudong is an important military town that the Tangyi army should prioritize at this stage.
Shoudong County was established by Xu Mingzhen to resettle the people who were trapped across the Yangtze River under the threat of Anning Palace. The city was built in a hurry. However, there is a Chi Road from Fengtai to Chaozhou passing through the city, and there is an open road of more than ten feet on the north side.
Qingjian River.
The Qingjian River originates from Jiu Mountain in Huailing, flows westward into the Bei Feishui River, and then into the Huai River. It can be regarded as a water canal that can connect with the Huai River and Feishui River. However, the problem is that at this time, the water systems in the middle and upper reaches of the Huai River are still alive.
Under the control of the state army navy.
The Hangou Waterway is not open to Huaidong, and the warships of the Tangyi Navy are still restricted to the Yangtze River system. The soldiers and horses stationed in Shoudong need to be extra careful at this time against the warships of the Zuolou Navy.
The upper reaches of Qingjian River attacked.
The low city wall was built of rammed earth, only seven or eight feet high.
Although it was only completed more than a year ago, cracks are already exposed on the outer side of the city wall. This shows how hastily the Shouzhou army was in building Shoudong City and how short of supplies they were. The city wall was not seriously strengthened.
When Han Bao and the others entered the city, they saw hundreds of laborers piling earth and building a horse-faced wall on the outside of the thin city wall. On the outside of the southern city wall, they had begun to cover it with a layer of city walls about three feet thick.
brick.
The buildings in the city are mainly simple shacks built by migrant households, but there are also several open areas that have been cleared and brick houses are being built. A pontoon bridge has been built on the Qingjian River. As long as the pontoon bridge is not destroyed, the warships of the Zuolou Fleet Army will be destroyed.
Restricted to the downstream of the pontoon, the Tangyi army also requisitioned some small fishing boats to mine coal from the upper reaches of Jiushan and other places, and transported it to Shoudong for burning lime and green bricks.
Nowadays, no matter where the Tangyi army advances, they always build lime cellars and brick cellars first. If there is coal, it is mined nearby. If there is no coal, it will be transported from Huaiyang, Shiquan, Daishan and other places.
After entering the city, Princess Yunhe, Shen Peng, and Zhao Ci had their own dedicated personnel to take over. Han Bao, Wang Che, Huo Li, and brothers Zhang Shigui and Zhang Shimin, who were caught by Han Bao and the others on their way back to their hometown, went first.
The Military Intelligence Staff Department resumed its duties at the temporary government office in Shoudong.
Brothers Zhang Shigui and Zhang Shimin were full of anxiety.
This great achievement naturally belongs to Han Peng, Huo Li, Wang Zhe and others. Although they have made some small achievements, they are really not sure whether they can resist the crime of escaping from the camp before.
The government office was very simple. The officials were crowded in the low courtyard of the third entrance to work. The people were noisy and the affairs were extremely busy. The person who led them to return to work suddenly encountered something in the middle and walked away.
Han Bao and Huo Li walked into a courtyard and were a little confused for a moment. Seeing everyone walking in a hurry, they couldn't bear to stop and ask for directions.
"leopard!"
Han Donghu strode into the yard and immediately saw Han Bao, who was much thinner. He walked over and rubbed his head out of habit.
Han Bao was not used to being treated like a child by Han Donghu in front of Huo Li and Wang Che, so he turned his head away slightly.
Han Donghu laughed loudly. When he saw Huo Li, Wang Che stepped forward to salute him, waved and said:
"You have really made a great contribution this time - I asked you to go straight over and return to your life. I thought you should be here by now!"
Han Bao introduced Zhang Shigui and Zhang Shimin behind him.
He deliberately brought the two Zhang brothers with him, thinking that while the Lord was happy, they would be exempted from the crime of escaping the camp. During the merit review, they could be directly promoted to military attachés, or directly attached to the Military Intelligence Staff Department as officials.
, you won’t have to work your butt off to get up from the bottom.
Hearing what Han Bao said about this, Han Donghu smiled and said: "My lord talked about your return and discussed with Gao Sima whether to ask you to directly command the army of the capital in the future; you can keep these two people by your side in the future.
The thing is, there’s no need to go there and join in the fun today…”
Tangyi has established a new brigade-level establishment between the town army and the capital, but the commander of the capital's troops is also a mid-to-senior general at the rank of deputy capital Yuhou. In the future, he will not be able to work with Han Bao.
Zhang Shigui and Zhang Shimin were also relieved and said they would wait outside the courtyard.
Huo Li and Wang Che followed Han Donghu and Han Bao and walked directly to the back office. They were not busy talking about what they had seen along the way back. They first asked Wang Yan, Wang Zang and Huo Xiao about their whereabouts.
The five of them can be said to be Wang Jun's dowry. Not to mention what the generals in Tangyi think of them. After arriving in Tangyi, they themselves felt that their status in Tangyi was a bit embarrassing.
This time going north, Huo Li and Wang Zhe were completely reassured, thinking that even if they were not promoted, they would continue to serve in the General Affairs Department and the Military Intelligence Staff Department as before - their previous starting point in Tangyi was enough.
It's high, but it's just that I don't have real power - I finally have capital to stand on, and I don't worry about being ostracized or looked down upon by the Tangyi generals again.
Of course, I haven't seen Wang Tang, Wang Yan, Huo Xiao and the others for a while, and I don't know where they were sent to serve after Tangyi's plate expanded so much.
"Wang Zang has gone to work as a deputy general for General Kong Xirong, and Wang Yan has also gone to Huangchuan as a county magistrate. For the time being, he is obeying General Kong Xirong's control. They just left the day before yesterday. You have to come back two days early, so you can still see them——
Huo Xiao is in Shoudong, and I don’t know where he is now." Han Donghu said.
After they crossed the Huaihe River, Wang Che inquired about the current situation in Tangyi from the military attache who escorted them to Shoudong. He also learned that the Huonan Task Force Battalion led by Kong Xirong, although it was a brigade-level establishment, had ten thousand soldiers and horses.
There are four to five thousand soldiers, but they are mainly new soldiers recruited on the northern slope of Huaiyang Mountain last winter. Their combat effectiveness is not strong, but the situation they face is complicated.
After occupying Le'an and Huangchuan, the former Guangzhou Prefecture's Huangchuan City served as the headquarters of the Huonan Special Forces Battalion. Under this background, Wang Yan took up the post of Huangchuan County Magistrate. Obviously, like Wang Zang, it was for Kong Xirong.
Went as an assistant.
Taking into account the special characteristics of Huangchuan and the huge number of soldiers and horses in the Huonan Task Force, it is obvious that Tangyi intends to add another town army establishment.
"Isn't it too abrupt for us to go to see the Lord like this?" Wang Che couldn't help but ask as he entered the tent.
They trekked all the way south, and after crossing the Huaihe River, they only temporarily asked the people who escorted them to change into dry clothes. The clothes were not so shabby. The clothes were ragged, but they were not combed properly, and everyone was unshaven.
When he walked to the dental tent, Wang Zhe realized that their appearance at this time was too sloppy.
"No need, this is the only way to show how hard and difficult it is for you at this time!" Han Donghu said jokingly.
Han Bao, Wang Che and the others walked into the hall. Feng Liao was talking to Han Qian about something. He did not ask them to avoid it, but just asked them to sit aside and wait. From the conversation between Feng Liao and Han Qian, they knew what Tangyi was currently facing.
More situations.
Twelve counties including Huailing, Zhongli, and Huangchuan were recovered, and Tangyi's left and right armies were fully mobilized. In addition to the super-staffed Huonan Special Battalion, all the troops from the baggage camp were put into active service. The total size of the troops increased dramatically.
Expanded to more than 60,000 people.
The soldiers in the garrison camp were mainly the surrendered soldiers who were captured during the great victory of Wujinling. They were not abused, and they were given enough food and warm clothes to work, which was enough preferential treatment. Naturally, it was impossible to give them military pay.
When the soldiers in the baggage garrison are converted into regular soldiers, the recruitment system must be implemented, and the soldiers' pay will naturally be paid according to the standards of regular soldiers.
After the 20,000 baggage garrison soldiers were converted into regular soldiers, 20,000 free laborers were lost to build camps, roads, ditches, barracks, etc. However, instead of decreasing, these tasks increased greatly, and additional money and food were needed.
Young labor force - Since the new system must be implemented and corvee services are to be exempted, young labor force cannot be forcibly requisitioned for free, so they can only be hired with money and grain.
In addition, a large number of new soldiers and armors and war equipment rations need to be continuously added, and the war against Shouzhou and Fengtai has not yet been properly prepared. The regular military expenditure of the Zhizhi Mansion in March increased by six months.
Seventy percent.
News of the chaos in the Liang Kingdom came back to Jinling. Huaidong sent people to Jinling to complain that Tangyi had secretly communicated with the Liang army, which would most likely cause the Chu troops to miss a God-given opportunity to send troops to attack the Central Plains. Han Qian scoffed at this and ridiculed Huaidong for actually
Fortunately, Qiao Chen and other families were not affected at all, and their enthusiasm for investing in the Government Money Bureau became even higher.
Even if the Zhizhifu could misappropriate money from the Official Money Bureau at this time to make up for the gap in military expenditures, this is ultimately a loan, and it is an act of demolishing the east wall to pay for the west wall.
How many gaps can be filled here?
There will be a huge gap left in the official money bureau.
The purpose of establishing the Official Money Bureau is to raise money to support the development of industry, manufacturing and commerce, and money and food cannot be diverted without restriction from the Official Money Bureau to make up for the gap in military expenditures.
Wang Zhe and the others listened for a long time before they realized that Feng Liao meant to persuade Han Qian not to rush to reduce or reduce taxes on the twelve newly recovered counties this year in order to stabilize people's hearts.
With an additional 500,000 yuan added, even if the Zhizhe government is not too harsh on taxation and makes certain reductions and exemptions, this year's summer and autumn grains will still be able to collect 300,000 to 400,000 shi of grain and 300, 400,000 to 400,000 yuan of cloth. This can be done in
To a large extent, it will make up for the Government’s spending gap this year.
"This year we will do a good job in surveying the land. Some of the Dingkou will have to move inland to Chuzhou and Yongyang to populate the households there. We will also sort out the hidden stakes and spies that may have been planted by the Shouzhou Army. If we are extremely vicious and come here to collect money and food,
, if we don’t give these people a chance to recuperate, it’s probably impossible to get good cooperation on many things. Let’s have another year or two of hard times, and when things get better next year, we’ll find ways to fill the gap in the official finance bureau.
." Han Qian disagreed with Feng Liao's proposition and persuaded him to find ways to make up for the gap in military expenditure from other places.
In the past month, Han Qian did not stop in Linhao or Shoudong, but traveled non-stop to all twelve newly recovered counties.
More than 500,000 new residents were added, and even though many of them were people who were forced to move northward by An Ning Palace after the Jinling Incident, they were all sallow and skinny, and their clothes were ragged, and they lived a very difficult life.
In order to maintain such a large army over the years, Xu Mingshou could not possibly give preferential treatment to so many people except for a few individuals who were integrated into the core of the Shouzhou Army.
The people who fled across the Yangtze River to the north, no matter what their previous status, as long as they did not hold an official position in the Shouzhou Army, had a difficult life, and the poor at the bottom wanted to have every grain of food that could be squeezed out of them.
Now is the season of spring famine, with no harvest, and the Zhizhi government even has to spend a large amount of money and grains for relief, exempting this year's summer and autumn grains, so that their lives can be relieved a little, and large-scale epidemics will not occur.
famine.
Han Bao and the others could not say anything about these matters and could only listen silently. However, being qualified to observe also meant that their status in Tangyi would be different from the past.
I don't know how long it took, but I heard someone moving in the yard. Wang Zhe and the others were sitting at the door and looked into the yard. It was Princess Yunhe, Shen Peng, and Zhao Ci who were led in.
At first glance, Wang Che felt that Princess Yunhe had changed into women's clothes and was dazzled. Unexpectedly, Princess Yunhe, who had traveled with them all the way through mountains and rivers and endured many hardships, would walk in wearing a blouse, looking so elegant and beautiful.
On her childish face, there is a calmness and calmness that she should not have at her age.
However, Wang Che noticed that Han Qian's eyes did not fall on the dazzling Princess Yun He, nor on Shen Peng, the core leader of Liang Guo Chengtian Division, but on Zhao Ci, who was silent along the way and acted somewhat recklessly.
Wang Zhe was not sure why, but Xi Fa'er, Lin Haizheng and others who were sitting in the hall talking about something changed their expressions. Xi Fa'er even held the handle of the knife in his hand and directly ordered the guards on the left and right to detain Zhao Ci.
"Forget it, you are just a guest, don't be rash," Han Qian waved his hand half-heartedly, gesturing to retreat, then looked at Zhao Ci and asked, "Are you Zhao Kuo's son or nephew?"
"Father Zhao Kuo..." Zhao Ci said.
"No wonder you were carved from the same mold. How old are you this year?" Han Qian asked, "You look like you are two or three years younger than me. When Zhao Kuo lurked around my father, you were just remembering it, right?
?”
Listening to what Han Qian said, Wang Che suddenly thought that Zhao Kuo was not the general who had been with Han Daoxun for many years. During the Jinling Incident, he stole Han Daoxun's body and returned to Xuzhou, then committed suicide by hitting a rock on it?
Lurking?
Zhao Kuo turned out to be Liang Guo's secret agent?
They escorted Princess Yunhe, and when Shen Peng came back, their attention was focused on Shen Peng. They didn't expect that such a big flaw would come out of Zhao Ci's inquisition.
Wang Che was also filled with shame, but luckily nothing happened.
Han Qian was originally interested in chatting with the prisoners of Liang Kingdom, but he didn't expect that one of them turned out to be the heir of Zhao Kuo who stayed in Liang Kingdom. When he lost interest in anything, he directly ordered his surroundings to take them down.
Han Qian then said to Guo Rong: "You can prepare a memorial for me and report this matter to see how the imperial court wants to deal with them."
Along the way, Shen Peng and others did not cause any trouble and were very cooperative. Everyone got along quite happily. Unexpectedly, as soon as they arrived in Shoudong, Han Qian decided to hand them over to Jinling for disposal.
Han Bao and Huo Li immediately wanted to stand up and say something, but thinking of their identities and after crossing the Huaihe River, they also heard that someone in Jinling was spreading rumors that Tangyi was collaborating with the enemy. Tangyi imprisoned Princess Liang for no reason at this time. But if it is not handed over to the imperial court, wouldn’t it be even more difficult to explain the twists and turns inside?
He was just sending a message to Shen Peng to inform Chen Kun that Han Yuan was rushing to aid Bianjing. How can we explain clearly?
Of course, after everyone has been handed over, there is no possibility of concealing these things. In order to facilitate their escape, Shen Peng, Yun He and Princess will also choose to trade with people from the court. They cannot keep it secret for Tang Yi. this obligation.
"Two important figures from the Liang Kingdom were taken to Tangyi. The news could not be concealed. Since the news could not be concealed, it would make sense for Tangyi to report it to the court. Otherwise, he would secretly detain the princess of the enemy country, and the general would have no idea. What's going on?" Wang Che lowered his voice and said to Han Bao, "However, at this time, we only sent the memorial, but did not directly escort the person to Jinling. Things will take a turn for the better. The court may be dissatisfied with these two people. It will be a waste of national money to escort people back to Jinling, so why should Tangyi be responsible for the custody?"
No matter how smart and capable Han Bao and Huo Li are, they are not as good at collusion and fighting as Wang Che.
They also wanted to ask what they would do if the imperial court asked Tangyi to hand over Yunhe Princess and Shen Peng after receiving the memorial. When they saw Han Qian looking towards them, Han Donghu glanced over, they stepped forward to pay homage...