The golden crow hung high, but Zhang Jun only felt cold all over.
Liu Chongwang swallowed, looked at the chaotic military camp again, and let out a long sigh.
The coach has no prestige, and the generals and generals are idiots. It is just a matter of luck to bring the soldiers to Jingzhou. What can I say?
He suddenly thought of Li Zhuo.
The grandson of the famous general Li Sheng and the son of Li Ting. His family came from the Anbeiting Army of Sun Zhizhi and Fengxiang's line. He later joined the Shence Army and made many military exploits. After becoming a serious general in the capital, he served as the military governor of Henghai and was good at leading troops.
When attacking Li Guochang and his son, he led three thousand Shence troops into Hedong and commanded all Taoist soldiers to defeat Shatuo.
But what is the ending of Li Zhuo?
After making such a great contribution, some honorary titles were added, and then the Shence Army was not given military power, but was sent out to serve as the governor of Suizhou.
How ridiculous! For such merit, it is unjustifiable not to be rewarded heavily, but he was actually demoted to another place and could not return to Beijing until his death.
Shence Army is finished!
"Shao Shude is such a thief!" Zhang Jun, who had been silent before, suddenly burst out.
"Huh? What does Zhang Shuai mean by this?" Liu Chongwang was stunned and didn't understand.
"Alas!" Zhang Jun sighed and said, "I didn't expect the Shence Army to be abandoned like this. In the past, Yang Fugong brought 5,000 Zhongwu troops into the Shence Army. They were elite and capable warriors, but unfortunately they were taken away by the Shao thief."
Liu Chongwang was stunned.
The group of people brought over by Yang Fugong from Henan were indeed capable of fighting Zhongwu Badu. They had a bloody battle with Chao's army, but all of them were abducted by Shao Shude. What's the point of talking about this now?
However, Zhang Jun's words also gave Liu Chongwang an idea.
In fact, the earliest batch of Shence troops gradually became incapable of fighting after they settled in Chang'an. However, the imperial court continued to recruit warlords who surrendered their troops to join the army, and at that time, there were veteran generals to control the situation, and those who were recruited were the best of the surrendered troops. , with combat experience and generous rewards from the court, he can naturally fight.
In this way, the combat effectiveness of the Shence Army was maintained for twenty years.
Twenty years later, combat effectiveness has declined again.
The imperial court repeated its old tricks. Every time it conquered arrogant vassals and rebelled against vassals, it always paid attention to recruiting elite surrender troops. It also incorporated all the descendants of the Hu chiefs from the Western Regions who were stranded in Chang'an and the generals of the Anxi Army into the army. In this way, it maintained more than 20 Year.
Throughout the Xianzong Dynasty, the Shence Army was still able to fight, but it was from this time that its combat effectiveness began to decline again.
In fact, to be honest, as the capital's forbidden army, the Shence Army's combat effectiveness has been maintained for nearly fifty or sixty years, with overwhelming power and great military exploits. It is already very good.
Falling after peace may be a fate that has been difficult to change for the Imperial Guards of all dynasties.
Liu Chongwang felt that if he wanted to restore the combat effectiveness of the Shence Army again, perhaps he could only start by recruiting vassal soldiers who could fight.
But now it's useless to say anything.
The sergeants packed up their bags and fled one after another. The officers could not stop them. Even the officers joined the fleeing team just because of a rumor that could not be distinguished from the truth.
An army that can retreat just because of rumors cannot be trusted anymore.
Liu Chongwang suddenly wanted to cry. The sage also had high hopes for the Shence Army. Before setting off for the expedition, he even said excitedly that the recruitment of troops in the towns in Hebei and Henan was going well, and more than 20,000 soldiers had been recruited, and they were heading to the capital.
It's too late!
"Prime Minister Zhang, all the armies collapsed after hearing the news. Regardless of whether the rumors are true or false, this battle will definitely not be able to continue. It's better to leave as soon as possible. If the Jingyuan army learns the news, the whole army will be killed, and we will all become prisoners. ?" Liu Chongwang advised.
Zhang Jun seemed to react suddenly.
"Where's the driver?" he asked.
The general immediately went to find him.
"That's it, it's too late, let's go on horseback." Zhang Jun said hurriedly, not wanting his butt to hurt from the jolt.
Outside Changwu City, the Jingyuan Army was also a bit noisy.
"Everyone, please listen to me." Zhang Jun has arrived with the main force of the Jingyuan Army, but he faces a thorny problem, which is how to persuade the sergeants not to go to Chang'an.
"In the past, when Commander Cheng was here, we, the soldiers of Jingyuan, were loyal. We fought against Huangchao and defeated Tubo without falling behind others." Zhang Jun continued: "Why bother to violate the rules now? You just need to guard the camp, and someday So I sent Chen Cheng to the capital to tell the sage the truth. After the sage knows our suffering, he will definitely not pursue it."
"What Zhang Shuai said are mature and prudent words. If the saint shows mercy, there may be rewards." Chen Na, Zhang Jun's aide and military official, said, "There will be no shortage of wealth."
"Zhang Shuai, the court is like this, why are you afraid of what he will do?"
"We will not violate the law, but we will kill the ignorant officials."
"It's very true, so I formed a formation outside the temple. The saint said that I have worked hard, and I will be comforted."
"And the little lady from Chang'an!"
"Ha ha……"
The more Zhang Jun listened, the worse his face became.
He knows how much he weighs and how good Jingyuan is. Going to Chang'an now will only lead to death!
It's not that he's afraid of Shence's army, but that he's afraid of other "loyal ministers".
"Brother's words make sense." Zhang Xiu, who led the army to win the first battle, suddenly interrupted. He only heard him say: "A certain family still has some wealth, so take it out and distribute it to the brothers. The matter of violating the law is still Do not do."
"Go away!" A primary school student suddenly said angrily: "When I respect you, I call you General, but if I don't, I call you Zhang Xiu. How do you feel about it? I have already agreed with everyone to go to Chang'an, but now I Are you going back on your word and treating your brothers like monkeys?"
"This man didn't keep his word, let's kill him now!" a sergeant suddenly shouted.
Soon, more than ten sergeants responded and drew their swords.
Zhang Xiu's soldiers also drew their swords, and their slightly hostile actions aroused the anger of more sergeants. Some of them had already cocked their rifle bows, with murderous intent in their eyes.
Seeing that a mutiny was about to happen on the spot, cold sweat broke out on Zhang Jun's forehead.
"Put away all the weapons. We are all brothers. What is it like to use swords and guns?" He said to Zhang Xiu's personal soldiers.
However, the sergeants ignored him at all, and more and more people started making noises.
"Leave now!"
"If you don't leave, I'll kill your whole family!"
"Why are you talking nonsense to him? Without us, he is nothing!"
"Who wants to be the governor? Take me to Chang'an."
A few people were eager to give it a try, with the slightest hint of ambition in their eyes.
In this era, a small officer or even an ordinary sergeant, a bandit or bandit, or the like could serve as governor, and there were many charismatic officers everywhere.
It is good to have a family background and come from a dental school family, but it is not necessary.
There was a military turmoil in the area under the jurisdiction of the Hunan Observation Corps, and bandits from the mountains entered the city. They directly called me to be the governor and made a certain promise to the sergeants. In the end, they took the position and hacked to death the people from the general family who blocked them.
Wrap up a group of people who can fight casually and occupy an empty state city. If you're lucky, the court will grant you an official title.
It's good to have a good family background, but it doesn't matter if you don't have a good family background, as long as you have many friends. When the war is in chaos, if you raise your arms, wonderful things that are unimaginable in other dynasties will happen.
This is an important feature that distinguishes the late Tang Dynasty from the last years of other dynasties.
The sergeants acted collectively and tyrannically, not only ravaging the common people, but also the masters of the general family and other dynasties.
Being greedy for military pay, ignoring others' merits, and humiliating soldiers are all taboos for generals in this era. If you are not careful, you will be chopped into pieces.
Wei Bo's Jiedushi passed away, and everyone recommended a new Jiedushi. Why are the wealthy families so accommodating to those low-ranking junior officers and soldiers? With such a trend, there is no other way.
If you lose your reputation among the top soldiers, it will be difficult for you to become a governor. Even if you do, you will not be able to sit still, and it may end in tragedy.
The Zhang brothers are not the only ones with prestige among the Jingyuan Army today.
Some junior officers with a reputation for bravery can win over many people. They may not be able to do it in normal times, but isn't there an opportunity now?
Zhang Jun also realized the seriousness of the problem, and even realized Cheng Zongchu's helplessness back then.
So he said simply: "That's all! There is indeed a traitor in the court, so I will take everyone to Chang'an to ask for an explanation. If the saint blames me, I will tie myself in front of the steps to plead guilty, and have nothing to do with you. If there is a reward,
I won’t take anything from you, I’ll give it all to you.”
The whole audience burst into cheers.
The sergeants brought the war horses, helped Zhang Jun up with all their hands and feet, and then hugged him forward.
Everyone was jubilant and in high spirits.
On the one hand, everyone likes wealth, but they also want to taste the taste of the noble ladies of Chang'an.
"Go! Go! Go quickly!" The soldiers called to their friends, as if they were going on an outing.
…
In the Penglai Hall, the saint had just fallen asleep, but was soon woken up again.
"The officials are five hundred miles away and urgently report to the army. Zhang Jun was defeated in Jingyuan and the whole army was defeated. The rebel army has been heading towards Chang'an." The female official of the inner court said with a worried look.
Official family is only a private title for the emperor's concubines and family members. Some senior middle-ranking officials and princes can also be called it. But in formal occasions, no one calls it this.
"What?" The saint sat up directly from the bed, completely sleepless.
His eyes were wide open, as if he couldn't believe it.
Beads of sweat slowly formed on his forehead, dripping down his cheeks and the tip of his nose.
His face was pale, even slightly blue.
Gradually, his wide-open eyes lost focus, seeming to fall into some extreme emotion.
"Officials, the most important thing now is to appease the rebels." Concubine He also sat up and gently stroked the saint's back.
The saint came to his senses a little.
"It's all Zhang Qing's fault!" The saint's voice was a little hoarse at first, but it soon became clear: "If Zhang Qing is demoted to Lingnan, can it appease the rebels and make them retreat?"
He shook his head and said: "The officials can now send one of the prime ministers to bring gold to the rebel army and hand out rewards. Besides, the imperial court has mobilized gold merchants, soldiers from Tonghua, Shuofang and other towns, King Qin, and the army
Gathering in Chang'an, the mountains shout long live. After the rebels received the reward, they no longer wanted to fight to the death, and were afraid of him to control the troops, so they may retreat."
"Yes! Yes! This is a wonderful strategy!" The saint's face showed some blood, and he said excitedly.
He's hand was a little painful from being pinched, but she still looked at him with a smile: "In the official family, the Tang Dynasty has a long history. It's not just once or twice that the sergeants have been arrogant and caused chaos. Which saint has not experienced it? Don't worry.
However, we should still mobilize troops and horses from other towns to come in for reinforcements, otherwise we might not be able to help. The rebel troops are not just entering Chang'an for money and silk."
The saint calmed down, and a series of ideas slowly emerged in front of his eyes.