The battle was dark and dark during the day. It took a long time for the princes to settle down after their troops withdrew. Now if I go to summon them, I'm afraid they won't be able to arrive in a while. Chen Cheng inspected the camp and said
After condolences to the injured soldiers, I returned to the main tent of the Chinese army. Taking advantage of the time before the princes arrived, I took out a pen and paper and started writing today's battle diary.
This time he sent troops with the idea of "three parts military and seven parts politics". It would be great if he could break through Chencang and enter Guanzhong. It would be okay if he couldn't defeat it. Now Han Sui occupied the territory of four counties and had strong military strength. If
If Chen Cheng does not participate in this Eastern Expedition, he is likely to be marginalized. By that time, even Cheng Yi and Yang Qiu may also fall to Han Sui's side, so Chen Cheng brought five thousand soldiers and horses.
He had previously promised to provide 100,000 shi of grain and 100,000 shi of miscellaneous grain, but in fact, less than one-third of it was delivered. The remaining amount was to be mined and paid for with newly minted silver and copper coins.
If the silver and copper coins are not spent, but are only circulated in Beidi County, Shuofang County and Wuyuan County, it will probably cause prices to skyrocket. Chen Cheng originally had other considerations, and now he is taking these coins to Anding, Hanyang and others.
It is also a good choice to buy grain from the powerful land.
In the process of circulation, bad coins will drive out good coins. Maybe someone will collect the silver coins, melt them and recast them. Of course, in the process of recasting, more other metals must be added, otherwise it will still be
How can you make money? It is also possible that the people who minted the coins privately were more honest and took the silver to imitate them... Well, even if there are such honest people, they will definitely succumb to reality.
The production of materials is very important, and circulation and exchange are equally important. Coins are general equivalents used for material exchange. Although coins cannot be directly used for food and drink, they are also an important part of economic production.
For example, in Luoyang now, He Jin used the method of casting "big money" to collect a large amount of wealth from the people. Although it relieved the temporary crisis, it would only make the already bad economy worse. Unless
If He Jin can move from one victory to another, he can still survive by plundering wealth from the outside, otherwise...
Thinking of this, Chen Cheng shook his head and decided not to worry so far. The reason why the fight was so ugly today was mainly because he had selfish motives and did not go all out. If he could bring more soldiers and horses, the situation would definitely be better.
There are many. But who can really forget selfishness?
He then thought about it, there are still people who forget their own interests, but now that he is sitting in the position of Liangzhou Mu, if he continues to only focus on being a good person like before, what will happen to the soldiers, officials and people under his command?
It's too unfair. He can't learn from Liu Yu and treat his own people harshly but treat outsiders kindly.
In addition, the combat effectiveness of the Guanzhong Army was stronger than he expected. Judging from today's performance, the quality of the Guanzhong Han Army was not much different from that of the Northern Army. And with their larger numbers, their overall combat effectiveness would only be greater.
Qiang fought with the Han army in the narrow terrain of Chencang, and lost the geographical advantage before the battle.
The Xiliang army was dominated by cavalry, and its combat effectiveness was better in a wide area.
Every time Chen Cheng wrote a few sentences, he would think about it for a while. After he figured out a problem, he would continue to write. While he was writing hard, his own soldiers came to report, "Generals Zhang Heng and Cheng Yi have arrived."
He put away the half-written diary in the formation, raised his head, and said: "Invite them in!"
After a moment, footsteps sounded again outside the tent. Cheng Yi opened the door and walked in first, followed by Zhang Heng. Chen Cheng stood up to greet him and said, "The others haven't come yet, let's wait a little longer."
Zhang Heng lost nearly a thousand men today, which can be said to be a serious injury. Although Zhang Ye is still relatively wealthy among the counties in Liangzhou, he only got half of it, and the money he collected on weekdays was just enough to support the army. This time
I wanted to come out and grab one, but I didn’t know that I still lost money in the end.
Although the black-armored army under his command was elite, every one of them died. Whether it was elite soldiers or armor weapons, they all cost a lot of money.
"Chen Shijun, thanks to you today, we were able to withdraw!" Zhang Heng patted his chest and said, "From now on, as long as you say a word, we, Lao Zhang, will never be ambiguous!"
Chen Cheng sat back on his seat, smiled, and said nothing. Zhang Heng said to Cheng Yi again: "Thank you for your help, brother!"
A smile appeared on Cheng Yi's handsome face, and he said: "If General Zhang hadn't sacrificed his life, the others wouldn't have been able to withdraw so easily."
Zhang Heng laughed twice and said: "To be honest, I also want to withdraw, but how can I run without horses? Rather than being killed like a pig or a sheep, it is better to fight with him! Killing one is enough
Ben, I killed two and made a profit!"
Chen Cheng smiled and said: "General Zhang is too modest. Today, the general was the first to enter the city. Later, all the generals only focused on escaping and were completely clueless. Only the black-armored army retreated without chaos. When it comes to martial arts and military management,
General Zhang is far superior to others."
Zhang Heng laughed "haha" again, and he said proudly: "That's right, when it comes to fighting, we have never been afraid of anyone!"
While they were talking, Song Jian, Yang Qiu, Ma Teng, Cheng Yin and others all arrived, but only Han Sui and Li Xiangru were missing. Chen Cheng waited for a while, but there was still no sign of Han Sui and the others. He turned to the guards and asked the soldiers.
Commander Wen Ran asked, "Have you sent someone to notify General Han and General Li?"
Wei Ran said firmly: "We have already sent someone to notify you."
Chen Cheng asked again: "Then why haven't we seen them yet?"
Although he knew some things, it was not convenient to say them directly, so he had to pretend to be stupid. Chen Cheng found that as his status became higher and higher, more and more soldiers under his command, and his territory became larger and larger, he needed to pretend to be stupid.
There are more and more places.
Zhang Heng said loudly: "Han Sui took the lead in withdrawing his troops today and almost killed everyone! I think he will not dare to come today!"
Chen Cheng waved his hand and said: "It's not like that. The primary responsibility for today's battle lies with me, not with General Han. I didn't expect the army to arrive so quickly, and I didn't take precautions in advance, so I was caught off guard.
.”
As soon as this statement came out, all the generals in the tent were a little surprised. The princes of Xiliang had seen many things shirk responsibility and accuse each other, and they often made their subordinates and others take the blame. Like Chen Cheng, who took the initiative
I have never seen anything like taking all the responsibility.
Song Jian, Cheng Yin and others thought: Since Han Sui's fault is not even held accountable, then naturally nothing will happen to us.
Thinking of this, everyone who was a little nervous at first felt a lot more at ease, although they didn't worry much about being punished. Liangzhou has been in chaos for so many years, and the princes have long understood one thing: as long as they have soldiers and generals in their hands,
Then there is nothing to be afraid of. In the worst case, you can just take your troops and retreat to your home base. However, it can also make people feel more relaxed if they can avoid the process of blaming each other.
Chen Cheng thought for a moment and said to Wei Ran: "Send Yan Xing to Han Sui's army and ask him and General Li Xiangru to come over to discuss matters."
Li Xiangru was already the prefect of Longxi before Han Sui raised his army. At that time, he and Huang Yan, the prefect of Jiuquan, responded to Han Sui's rebellion by Bian Zhang. Later Han Sui killed Bian Zhang, and Huang Yan, the prefect of Jiuquan, was also killed by Song Jian, and Li Xiangru changed his mind.
He became Han Sui's close comrade-in-arms and loyal subordinate. As long as Han Sui came, Li Xiangru would naturally come too.
Wei Ran cupped his hands and said "Promise", then strode out.
In the camp ten miles to the southwest, Li Xiangru asked: "Wen Yue, Chen Cheng sent someone here just now and asked me to wait there to discuss the military situation. Should we go or not?"
Han Sui, who was dressed as a Confucian scholar, twirled his beard and said with a smile: "We are busy with business in the camp, so why don't we go?"
Li Xiangru arrived: "What if all the other princes have gone?"
The smile on Han Chun's face froze, and he immediately replied: "It's just a good time to see whether more people are Chen Cheng towards him or towards us."
Li Xiangru has occupied more land in recent years and has many beautiful concubines. He is no longer as energetic as when he started to rebel, and his body has also gained a lot of weight. Since Han Sui said so, he will wait in Han Sui's camp and look to the west.
Who do the Liang princes prefer?
Not long after, a spy came to report, "Cheng Yi has gone to Chen Shijun's camp."
Li Xiangru looked at Han Sui, and Han Wenyue said calmly: "Cheng Yi has turned to Chen Cheng a long time ago. I expected him to pass."
Li Xiangru laughed and said, "That's true. Cheng Yi and Yang Qiu must be facing Chen Cheng."
After waiting for a while, the spy came again to report, "Cheng Yin has entered Chen Shijun's camp."
Li Xiangru's expression changed slightly and he looked at Han Sui. Han Wenyue's expression remained as usual.
"Report, Song Jian has led troops into Chen Shijun's camp!"
"Report, Ma Teng has..."
Li Xiangru finally couldn't sit still, and he said to Han Sui in a panic: "Wen Yue, they have all gone to Chen Shijun's camp, but if we don't go, will they put all the blame for today's defeat on our heads?
superior?"
Han Sui had just closed his eyes to rest, when he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted: "Why are you panicking?"
"But...but..." Li Xiangru said in a panic: "Song Jian, Cheng Yin and others have all gone, but we are not going..."
Han Sui sneered and said: "Although those people are just weeds who will fall in the wind, if Chen Cheng becomes too powerful, they will fall back."
Li Xiangru was stunned for a moment, his little eyes showed joy, "You mean?"
"Besides, Chen Cheng will definitely not dare to cause trouble for us now that we are facing a formidable enemy." Han Sui said confidently: "If we wait a little longer, Chen Cheng will definitely send someone over to invite us!"
Before he finished speaking, his own soldiers came to report, "Sima Yanxing, the commander of the army under Chen's command, is asking for an audience!"
Han Sui smiled, stood up, and said to Li Xiangru, "How is it? It's not what I expected, right?"
Li Xiangru laughed and said: "Wen Yue really knows what will happen!"
Han Sui personally greeted Yan Xing at the gate of the camp, stepped forward, took his hand, and said with a smile: "A good son-in-law!"
Yan Xing looked helpless, pulled out his hand and said: "General Han, my lord asked me to come over and invite you to discuss military aircraft."
Han Sui explained with a smile: "Just now a Qiang leader came to report that traces of imperial troops and horses were found near the Qianyang River Valley in the north. I was worried that the retreat would be cut off by the officers and soldiers, so I hurriedly arranged for troops to intercept them.
That’s why it was delayed.”
Yan Xing was stunned and asked: "Is there any imperial officers and soldiers found near the Qianyang River Valley? Are they going to attack Long County?"
Han Sui smiled and said: "Whether it is true or not, we will find out tomorrow."
He said to Yan Xing: "Long County is strong and difficult to move down..."
Speaking of this, Han Sui thought of the scene of the catapult showing its power that he had seen today, and couldn't help but pause for a moment before continuing: "Let's not talk about this for now. Let's go to see Chen Shijun first, so as not to let anyone know about it.
