The siege of Luzhou City was not tight because the attackers did not have enough troops. But even so, the defenders still did not dare to fight.
They waited in the city for more than a month, but no messenger came to appease them. Instead, the fortress was cleared, and Kelan and other troops continued to attack. Seeing this, the defenders became more and more desperate.
Zhang Wanjin dispersed his family wealth and tacitly allowed the soldiers to plunder the entire city, so that he could suppress the commotion - in fact, there was not much wealth left to plunder in Zelu Prefecture.
Shi Jiantang now has a strong sense of ownership.
He is already the emperor's man!
Haven't you seen the horses, armor, cloaks, and swords rewarded by the saints? The three Shatuo tribes are different. They are now the emperor's private soldiers. They are not under the control of the imperial court, and they do not listen to the orders of the Privy Council. They raise their own food and pay, and prepare their own equipment.
train.
He had to take good care of the Qing Sai army for the saint.
Yesterday, an envoy from the city went out of the city at night, hoping to contact the Qing army attacking the city to rebel. However, he was caught by the Shatuo soldiers on the way. After being tortured, he gave up everything.
Shi Jiantang had moved his camp to the east of the city, far away from the Qing army. He was really worried that someone would take the opportunity to cause trouble.
On the ninth day of June in the sixth year of Jianji, the Baoning Army left Jinyang, passed through Dongwo River, went south along Jianggu Avenue, crossed Xuanche Ridge, passed Angche Pass, passed through Songmen Ridge and Sanchuigang, and arrived at Lu
The state council is located in the north of Dangcheng.
Seeing the soldiers from various departments storming Luzhou, everyone in the Baoning Army felt sad.
Li Cunxian was so horrified that he led his troops southward the next day. After passing Changping Pass, which was sixty miles south of Luzhou, he breathed a sigh of relief, because this was already the headquarters of the Jinglue Army. They had just wiped out the Gaoping Pass.
A small rebellion broke out in the county, killing more than a thousand people, and the main force was stationed in Zezhou.
On the afternoon of the 13th, the Baoning Army arrived in Gaoping County and rested for a day.
Li Cunxian climbed up a hillside and overlooked the city located in the mountain basin.
"It's a pity that Zezhou was taken away by the Xia people." Li Cunxian sighed.
"The military envoy should be careful what he says." Li Sigou reminded: "Now we are all Xia people."
"Yes." Li Cunxian smiled to himself.
He was originally from Xuzhou, Henan. When the nest arrived in Henan, he was drafted into the army. Li Keyong killed Chen Xujian with his army and broke the nest with the thieves. Li Cunxian, who was still called Wang Xian at that time, admired Keyong's style and defected to him. He was
Adopted as an adopted son.
"Zezhou was placed under the control of Zhili Road, and Taihangxing was occupied by the imperial court. From now on, it will not be easy to separate Hedong. You should put aside those petty thoughts and concentrate on fighting for the imperial court. Your wealth will be no less than before." Li Cunxian turned his head.
Looking at the generals and soldiers following behind him, he said.
In fact, when Heyang Town was established in the former Tang Dynasty, Zezhou came to belong to it for a time. When Heyang was at its peak, it had jurisdiction over the four prefectures of Huai, Wei, Xiang, and Ze (Mengzhou had not yet been established at that time). Later, Xiangwei was abandoned, and Zezhou was
The state remains in Heyang Town.
It was not until the Zhaoyi Army captured Zezhou during the rebellion that they had no choice but to lose it. However, the imperial court was unwilling to transfer Zezhou to Zhaoyi Town in terms of zoning and refused to recognize the fait accompli. It was not until the Huangchao Rebellion that the authority was greatly lost.
A formality was made.
It can be said that after the difficulties, every change in the ownership of Zezhou represented the rise and fall of the central court and its strength.
Now, Zezhou has left Hedong again.
"The military envoy is right." Li Sigou stood up and agreed: "I received a letter from Puzhou yesterday. My brother bluntly stated in the letter that Puzhou has been stable for several years, and the people all said that this is the best virtue in the world. Also, after Hebei was pacified,
As Puzhou is a crossing of the Yellow River, business travel is becoming more and more frequent, and life is getting better day by day. He has a rich fortune there and has already found a place to build a house outside the city. Even if he moves to another place in the future, this house in Puzhou is not going to be given away.
When you go out, just leave one here to spread the branches and leaves."
"Puzhou is really that rich?" Someone asked: "How can a place where Zhu Quanzhong, Zhu Xuan, and Zhu Jin have repeatedly struggled to be so prosperous be so good?"
"More than that!" Someone else said: "Shao Thief——"
As soon as the word "Shao Thief" came out, everyone turned their attention.
The man smiled awkwardly and said: "Shao Shude's Feilong Army has been operating in Puzhou for a long time, and those people are quite capable of causing harm."
Li Cunxian glared at the general. He openly called the Emperor by his name. Was he still a little awe-struck?
However, he did not dare to deal with this person, because too many people in the army had done this. Once dealt with, if everyone was not safe, someone would rebel, and his life would be in danger, so he could only give a warning.
The general accepted the warning and continued: "It has only been seven or eight years, and Puzhou has been restored?"
"No matter how bad the recovery is, can it be as bad as Zelu?" Suddenly, someone said coldly.
Well, this sentence is indeed "cold" enough, and it made me chat to death all of a sudden.
Seeing this, Li Sigou laughed and said: "Vice General Jin is right. There is only such a small area in Hedong, and Zelu can't squeeze much money out of it. It's ridiculous that Zhang Wanjin doesn't know what to do and wants to separate Luzhou. I'm going to ask,
Even if the imperial court pinches its nose and admits it, how much money can he get in a year if he is appointed as the governor of Luzhou?"
"This makes sense." Li Cunxian sighed: "We wait for warriors and work hard for our lives, isn't it just for our homes, money and women? If you vote for the Xia Kingdom, you will have all these, so why bother to rebel again? After going south, you all will wake up.
Focus on the point. If there are rumors spreading in the army, stop them immediately and report them. If there is a conspiracy, report it as soon as it starts to appear. Everyone knows what happened to Shi Shaoyong, right? I am a kind-hearted person, watch how he treats the Jin Dynasty
The king’s surviving family will know that there will be money and women in the future. But we must first ensure that we have life to enjoy it. That’s it for now. Please think about it more.”
Although both Li Cunxian and Li Siggong were speaking for the court, their words were well-founded and factual. Even though everyone felt a little awkward because they had not changed their minds for a while, they listened and agreed one after another.
The interests of middle- and upper-level officers are not the same as those of lower-level officers and top soldiers.
After such an education, the officers must not have too many thoughts that they shouldn't have for a while. Next, they must closely monitor the status of the soldiers to ensure that nothing goes wrong.
****
Outside Tianjing Pass, business travelers and pedestrians lined up waiting to pass the customs.
Some of them took the first-class national highway from the direction of Luoyang and Mengzhou, and some came diagonally through the mountain trails from the direction of Jiyuan. But these two roads, one large and one small, cannot bypass Tianjing Pass - this is the length of Taihang Xinglong
Tens of miles away, the reason why the city was built at Tianjingguan: at the intersection of roads, there is a spring on the mountain, and the terrain is dangerous enough.
Tianjingguan has been passing troops for the past two days.
A businessman from Huaizhou asked a familiar sergeant that the crossing would probably take place tomorrow (June 16th), and it would be their turn to cross the border and head north the day after tomorrow.
The news spread quickly, and everyone lamented when they heard the words.
The inns, restaurants, teahouses, and inns that do business along Guannan Mountain Road are all happy. If these people stay one more day, they can make more money.
"Commander Qiu is here!" Outside the entrance of Tianjing Guandong Valley, post general Han Erlang greeted him personally, very enthusiastically.
"Captain Han, you don't have to be like this." Qiu Zengxiang waved his hand and said, "Without your help back then, I would have died long ago."
Han Erlang sat down with a smile.
He is the same age as Shao Sheng this year, but his beard and hair are all white. He and Qiu Zengxiang were both captains of the tug-of-war army, and he saved the life of this new martial arts student on the battlefield.
After Hedong surrendered, he quit the Tujiang general, took his wife and children to Tianjingyi, and became a post general. It has only been more than a month since then.
To be honest, Tianjing Post was a fertile vacancy because there were too many business travelers, and business was booming. The original Hedong Post general didn't want to let him go, but the military commander came forward and took out an official ultimatum and ordered him to get out. In Wufu
Under the pressure of swords and guns, the Hedong post general did not dare to say anything and walked away in despair.
This is the benefit of "progressing together" with Daxia. Some high-ranking officials and generals have titles, some have official titles, and those without titles or official titles also have more salaries. The lower-level warriors who dare to fight desperately can also get it if they have the luck to survive.
Not a small benefit, such as Han Erlang.
When Qiu Zengxiang was in Qianning for five years (898), he and his classmates participated in the sword-giving ceremony of the saint, and became the captain of the Tujiang general. Now eight years have passed, and he has been transferred to the Jinglue Army and was promoted to the left wing infantry army based on his merits.
The third deputy commander. Considering that he is only twenty-nine years old, he really has a bright future.
"Is everything okay at the inn?" Qiu Zengxiang looked at it carefully and asked: "If someone is looking for trouble, just say hello. No matter what, we can send the troublemaker to Peking."
Han Erlang laughed and said: "There is no one who can't open his eyes. Even if he comes, you won't be afraid of him."
Qiu Zengxiang nodded, pointed to a group of monks sitting on the ground next to the inn, and asked, "Why are so many monks here?"
"I went to perform rituals for Li Keyong, and I'm waiting to clear the customs." Han Erlang said, "I come here every day to ask for alms. Alas, it doesn't matter if I give it, and it doesn't matter if I don't."
Next to the monks were officials from other towns and government offices in other states, who should be accompanying (monitoring) them on their journey north.
"Listen to the accents of those people, are there people from other towns?" Qiu Zengxiang asked after listening carefully to the monks' conversation for a while.
"Yes." Han Erlang said: "The monk who signed this contract is from Wuyue. There is also Master Guanxiu. I heard that he can write poems very well. There are even foreign monks. But I went north a few days ago, and this meeting
Can’t see it.”
"Why are there still foreign monks?" Qiu Zengxiang asked curiously.
Han Erlang pointed to the north and said: "They are all going to Mount Wutai."
Qiu Zengxiang suddenly realized.
Mount Wutai is almost a holy place in the Buddhist world, with many foreign monks coming and going.
It may have originally originated from the legend of the Later Zhou Dynasty (Northern Zhou Dynasty), that is, "Manjushri transformed into a Sanskrit monk and came to visit this land, named Qingliang Mountain."
There are many people who believe this, including Sanskrit monks from India. For example, "(Sakyamitra) walked on elbows and knees, and blood flowed to his bones." There are also people who bring Buddhist scriptures from India to Mount Wutai to translate and perform pilgrimages.
Since the Tang Dynasty, foreign monks such as Sakyamita Luo, Buddha Boli, Lingxian, Zhensu, Yuanren, Puhua and others have lived here for a long time, which has made Mount Wutai's status higher and higher.
Ghosts will be able to see Wutai Mountain in the next life."
"Are there any Japanese monks?" Qiu Zengxiang suddenly thought of something and asked suddenly.
"There is a man with two disciples who entered the customs two days ago." Han Erlang said.
Qiu Zengxiang was very excited when he heard this and stood up suddenly.
Before Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty exterminated Buddhism, many monks from Japan came to the Tang Dynasty. For example, the famous Master Huihe entered the Tang Dynasty in the first year of Huichang (841) and lived in Mount Wutai for more than two months. He "asked to see Manjusri" but to no avail. Later, he asked for support from Mount Wutai.
Then he returned home.
In the fourth year of Huichang, he raised funds, and Empress Dowager Kachiko Tachibana personally embroidered cassocks, treasure flags, and mirrors, and paid Hui'e with gold coins to make donations to Mount Wutai in the Tang Dynasty again.
In the fifth year of Huichang, the Buddha was exterminated, and Hui E had to bind his head and return to secular life.
After Xizong, due to the chaos in the Central Plains, the number of monks coming to China gradually decreased. It was not until the fourth year after the founding of Daxia that foreign monks gradually came to China.
Qiu Zengxiang knew that the saint was very concerned about this matter, so he kept paying attention to it, but he didn't expect that he would actually encounter it.
There was no further delay and he left in a hurry.
Unexpectedly, those monks were also sharp-eyed and knew that his identity was unusual, so they immediately stood up and called him.
He was a little impatient and asked: "Why don't you go from Hebei to Wutai and go to Daizhou? There is a general hospital over there that provides food and accommodation all the way. Isn't it very convenient?"
"Hebei is a vast area, full of dust and cannot be seen."
"In a place far away from chaos, you should know how to hide in it. In a place of solemn killing, you should stay away."
"Avoiding chaos has no depth, and traveling has no distance."
Qiu Zengxiang was amused by the monks' words and said with a smile: "It turns out that the mages are also afraid... That's all. In fact, the Chengde Rebellion is about to subside. I got the news today that there was internal strife among the defenders of Luocheng in Zhenzhou and was defeated by Master Wang. Now only
Yuzicheng, Yacheng. The thieves are frightened and must destroy it. But you may not be able to make it in time. That's all, I'll take you in from the East Valley."
After saying that, you should lead the way and lead a group of people inside.
In Tianjing Pass, sergeants from Hedong continued to go south to fight.
In the East Valley, the envoys and monks went north one after another to attend the funeral.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Shao Shude has completely taken control of Hedong, and the unification of the Northland is about to be completed.