After a short rest, the team continued to march northwest. Seven days later, the mighty baggage team finally arrived at Zhangye City. It took a month and two days. The moment they saw Zhangye City, everyone cheered.
Wang Lien, the governor of Ganzhou, has been transferred back to Chang'an and has been appointed as the acting governor of the state. Currently, the military and political affairs of Ganzhou are handled by Shi Pan Liao, the governor general.
When he heard that the reinforcements and the new governor had arrived, Pan Liao was overjoyed and led a group of officials out of the city to greet them.
Pan Liao was just a civil servant, but he was asked to lead 8,000 Ganzhou troops and tens of thousands of Shatuo troops to confront each other. It was really difficult for him. After the spring began, he became worried, fearing that the Shatuo army would march south in large numbers. The reinforcements and the commander finally arrived at the Shatuo people.
Arriving before heading south, he breathed a long sigh of relief and lifted a heavy burden from his shoulders.
Pan Liao is of medium build, with fair skin. He is about in his early forties. He is from Jiangzhou, Hedong, and a disciple of the Pei family. He has served as several county magistrates and one governor. In the autumn of the year before last, he was appointed governor of Ganzhou.
He led the officials to come forward and salute Guo Song, "See Governor Guo!"
Guo Song stepped forward and clasped his fists, smiling: "It's my honor to work with all of you. I hope we can unite sincerely to fight against the Shatuo invasion in the days to come!"
Guo Song had already understood some of the situation in Ganzhou in advance and knew that the civil servants of the Ganzhou Dudu Mansion were under dual leadership. On the one hand, they were their own subordinates, and on the other hand, they were also under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
At present, the highest official in Ganzhou is Chang Shi Pan Liao. He is the gentle official in front of him. He smiled at Pan Liao and said: "Pan Chang Shi has worked hard during this time!"
Pan Liao smiled bitterly. It was not hard work, it was just the fear that kept him awake at night. Fortunately, these things will become a thing of the past. Even if Ganzhou falls, he will not have to bear the main responsibility.
"We look at each other day in and day out, and we are finally looking forward to the arrival of Governor Guo and the reinforcements. We can't help but feel happy. Let me introduce to Governor Guo. This is Liu Sima, this is Zhang Lushi who has joined the army, and this is Judge Yang.
,This is Sergeant Zuo Junjun..."
After Pan Liao introduced the civil servants one by one, and then the military generals, a group of lieutenants and generals were impatient and hurriedly came forward to pay tribute to Guo Song. Unlike the civil servants, they only had Guo Song as their boss, so they were obviously more interested in Guo Song.
enthusiasm.
Guo Song comforted everyone one by one, and then smiled at Pan Liao and said: "How to arrange the military camp? There are more than a thousand family members accompanying the army. I have to trouble Pan Changshi to arrange them."
Pan Liao nodded, "Everything has been arranged. The military camp has it ready. Li Sima can take it there. The materials will be stored and registered in the military camp."
Sima Liu Zi stepped forward and bowed, "Please give me your orders, Commander-in-Chief!"
Guo Song asked Yao Jin and Liang Wu to come forward to pay tribute, and ordered them to lead the army to the military camp to have a good rest, and the baggage convoy also headed to the military camp.
There were many empty houses in Zhangye City. Zhang Qianyi was responsible for leading more than a thousand family members to the county government, who registered them and arranged residence. The army was responsible for providing the necessary food.
The baggage detachment and cavalry headed to the military camp in a mighty manner, and more than a thousand family members followed the county government officials into Zhangye City.
In the end, it was the Guo Song family's arrangement.
Of course, he does not need to make arrangements. He should live in the governor's special official residence. It is located in the north of Zhangye City, directly opposite the governor's office. It is a mansion covering an area of 30 acres. It was formerly the residence of the former Ganzhou Governor Wang Lianen and his family. Now it is
Guo Song took his family to live there.
Under the leadership of Pan Liao, the Guo Song family entered the city with more than twenty ox carts. In addition to the servants and wives, they also brought hundreds of boxes and luggage. It can be said that apart from the furniture, they could not bring anything with them.
They brought everything else they could.
Of course, Guo Song did not bring any of his valuable treasures, such as those screens, which were stored in the underground treasure house of Jubao Pavilion before leaving. He only brought some valuable porcelain, which were also daily necessities for him.
Guo Song was no stranger to Zhangye City. He had been here several times and the bustling commerce left a deep impression on him. But today's Zhangye City surprised him. The entire city was deserted, depressed, with few pedestrians, and most of the shops were empty.
With the doors closed, the bustling business of the past has disappeared.
"Pan Changshi, why did Zhangye City become so deserted?" Guo Song couldn't help but ask.
Pan Liao smiled bitterly, "From last autumn to now, the population of Ganzhou has dropped by more than half. How can it not be deserted?"
"Because the Shatuo army invaded the south?"
Pan Liao nodded, "Everyone was afraid that Ganzhou would be captured by the Shatuo people and be taken as slaves. There were three large-scale escapes. Some people fled to Liangzhou, some fled to Longyou, and those who couldn't escape were all
There are various reasons, and it's not that they don't want to leave."
Guo Song said with some dissatisfaction: "Then the government should make it clear to the people that the Tang army can defend Zhangye City. As long as they live in the city, there will be no danger."
Pan Liao sighed and said: "From last autumn to now, the governor is the first person who thinks that we can defend Zhangye City. To be honest, everyone including the humble ones thinks that Zhangye City cannot be defended."
Guo Song looked at the surrounding city walls and wondered: "The city wall is tall and strong, with such a wide moat outside, and nearly 10,000 soldiers. Why do you think it cannot be defended?"
"The governor didn't know anything, the morale of the army was disorganized, the people's morale was shaken, the soldiers were not trained, the generals gambled, drank, and visited brothels all day long. Everyone just got by, and when the Shatuo people came to kill them, they were ready to abandon the city and flee."
"Nonsense!"
Guo Song said angrily: "Whoever has such an idea, I will be the first to kill him to enforce military law."
"Captain, the problem is not the soldiers, it is the fault of the previous commander! I will explain it in detail to the commander when I have time."
"You don't have to wait until I have time. I'll get my family settled first, and then I'll go inspect the city wall defenses. You can tell me then."
Guo Song's face became increasingly gloomy. The situation in Ganzhou was worse than he imagined.
.........
The former Governor of Ganzhou, Wang Lien, packed up almost everything he could take away from the house. He even didn't forget to pull out the radishes planted in the back garden. Fortunately, the furniture was relatively heavy and he couldn't carry it. Otherwise, even the furniture would be moved away.
That would be big trouble.
The furniture in the mansion is very good, all made of fine nanmu and willow. The master room in the back house is made of precious red pine. The structure of the mansion is similar, with three entrances from the front and back, and two side courtyards in the east and west. The side courtyard can only be accessed from the front.
Past the courtyard, there is no door to the atrium.
The back house covers an area of nearly 20 acres, consisting of three large courtyards. There is also a beautiful large garden in the northwest corner, covering an area of about five acres. It has pavilions, pavilions, rockeries, ponds and fish, although the buildings are not as good as
The Chang'an Garden House is exquisite, but the buildings are very heavy, made of sufficient materials, and very new. It can be seen that they have only been renovated for a year or two.
Everyone brought all kinds of bedding, curtains, kitchen utensils and daily necessities. If they were not enough, they could go to the city to purchase them. Butler Wang was busy allocating accommodation to everyone, and decided by drawing lots, which was more fair.
Xue Tao led a group of maids to open boxes and cages and took out various items to decorate the house. Housekeeper Yang took two cooks to the street to buy vegetables. Grain, rice and mutton were all ready, but fresh vegetables were mainly lacking.
Guo Song didn't have anything to do. He told his wife and then rode to inspect the situation in the city and the city's defenses.
Chief Pan Liao accompanied him to the city. The city wall was built very high and wide. Three carriages could run parallel on it. It was three feet high. The moat outside was also three feet wide. This was thanks to the previous governor Zhao Tengjiao. There was no moat originally. He
By diverting water from the Zhangye River and digging this moat, the entire city has a circumference of thirty-five miles. At its peak, the city's population reached more than 200,000, but now it is less than 100,000.
Guo Song clasped his hands and looked at the north, which was filled with vast grasslands. Pan Liao sighed and said: "Logically speaking, I shouldn't criticize a departing governor, but it is hard to shirk his responsibility for Ganzhou to be in the situation it is today."
Guo Song asked calmly: "I heard Zhang Guangsheng say in Liangzhou that the Ganzhou Army was defeated in three battles. Did the Ganzhou Army also go out to fight fiercely with Shatuo's army?"
"The governor is absolutely right! This is Wang Lien's biggest responsibility. Last summer, Shatuo's army was not in a hurry to attack Ganzhou, but continued to increase its troops to Suzhou. We all advised Wang Lien to guard the 500 soldiers captured by Qilian.
The army withdrew and defended Zhangye City, but he believed the Qilian guard's assurance that the guard was his brother-in-law Zhang Yong.
Later, 5,000 Shatuo troops surrounded Qilian Guards. Zhang Yong became frightened and sent dozens of pigeon letters asking for help. Wang Lien ignored our dissuasion and led 10,000 cavalry to rescue Qilian Guards. He believed that 10,000 Tang troops could defeat them.
How could the five thousand Shatuo people know that the Shatuo people were actually besieging the city for reinforcements, and that 20,000 cavalry were already watching from the other side.
Shatuo's army cut off the Tang army's retreat, and Wang Lien was indecisive and refused to break through decisively. As a result, the Tang army ran out of dry food and the morale of the army began to waver. He was forced to break out. As a result, three breakouts failed, and the deputy governor was killed. In the end, only more than 3,000 people broke out.
Successfully, they escaped back to Zhangye City, and the entire army of more than 7,000 people was wiped out."
It seems to be slightly different from what Zhao Tengjiao said, but the difference is not very big. Guo Song's brows have furrowed, "That's not what Wang Lien's report to the court said. He said that 50,000 Shatuo cavalry suddenly attacked. He
He led his army out of the city to protect the people from being massacred. Although he suffered heavy casualties, he led his soldiers to fight to the death. They did not retreat until the last of the people entered the city. Only then did they lose 7,000 soldiers. The emperor was moved by his loyalty and did not pursue any charges.
His responsibility was changed to the title of acting governor of the state."
"Fuck that shit!"
Pan Liao couldn't help but cursed, "He killed more than 7,000 soldiers, but he didn't get any compensation. He was promoted and made a fortune. It was the unfairness of the court that caused the army's morale to collapse and the people's heart to be shaken. No one was willing to work hard to defend the city anymore."
Already."
"Didn't you write a letter to expose it to the court?"
Pan Liao shook his head, "We are soft-spoken, unlike Wang Lien, who has a backing. Moreover, not long after we got the news, heavy snow came, and the blockade was blocked for more than three months. After the snow melted, we heard that the Governor was appointed to Ganzhou, so we counted on the Governor
Able to uphold justice and revive military morale."
Guo Song had a preliminary idea in his mind. The top priority was to revive the morale of the troops in Ganzhou, and the key to rebuilding the morale of the troops was to let the soldiers see fairness and hope.