Zhang Lei said sadly: "A large truck transported 500 kilograms, and a total of 60,000 kilograms of saltpeter ore and other materials were impounded."
According to the current purification ratio, 60,000 kilograms of saltpeter ore can purify 5,000 kilograms of saltpeter powder, which can make hundreds of large iron fire mines. More importantly, it took three years to accumulate this.
Guo Song was extremely annoyed. He turned around and asked Wen Miao: "Is the military governor of Hanzhong Guo Yao?"
Wen Miao said: "No longer. Guo Yao was appointed as Taichang Qing in October last year, and now Cao Liwei is appointed as the military governor of Hanzhong."
This name was very unfamiliar, and Guo Song asked: "What is the background of this Cao Liwei?"
"I'm going to check it out."
Wen Miao hurried out, and Guo Song asked Zhang Lei again: "How come you were detained? Did you reveal something? Or did you not pay taxes?"
Zhang Lei shook his head, "No one knows its real use. We use the name Glauber's salt to cross the border. It is a medicine and is used in many places. And we have paid all the taxes we should pay. The pigeon letter did not elaborate on it.
I guess the quantity transported at one time was too large, which easily attracted attention. The new Jiedushi wanted to cause trouble, and this batch of saltpeter happened to hit it."
At this time, Wen Miao walked in quickly and said: "Your Highness, we have found out that this Cao Liwei is the military envoy of the Shence Army and the head of Huo Xianming's Thirteen Taibao."
To be the head of Huo Xianming's thirteen eunuchs, he must have some ability. Guo Song asked again: "Do you have his resume?"
"I only know that he was Li Sheng's general at first. When Li Sheng was seized of military power, he was the Zhonglang General. I didn't know anything about it later. He has been stationed in Chengdu as a general of the Shence Army and has never experienced war. We also had him last year.
When he was promoted to Hanzhong Jiedushi, I found out that he was Huo Xianming's chief eunuch, his official title was Shence Army Soldiers and Horses Envoy, and his military rank should be general."
Guo Song took a few steps with his hands behind his back. He had realized that this was also an opportunity to seize Hanzhong.
He immediately said to Wen Miao: "Go and notify Tiance Tower, and immediately send an order from the King of Jin to Chengdu, urging the Southern Tang Military Department to thoroughly investigate the matter, and order Cao Liwei to release the goods immediately, otherwise he will bear all the consequences!"
At present, Guo Song still recognizes the Southern Tang Dynasty. Although he has essentially established the imperial court, after all, he has not ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. The various official offices he established are under the name of the Jin Palace, and all appointed officials will be sent to
He went to the Chengdu court to register, and even his wife and children had to be canonized by the Queen Mother.
It is precisely because of these reasons that Guo Song and the imperial court reached a tacit understanding that no goods or personnel traveling between the two parties would be seized at checkpoints along the way. Therefore, the seizure in Hanzhong severely damaged this tacit understanding, but the seizure
It is also an extremely important strategic material.
Maybe Hanzhong still doesn't know the importance of this batch of supplies, but Tiancelou has already started taking action.
At the same time that the King of Jin's order was issued, Guo Song also issued an emergency mobilization order. The so-called emergency mobilization order was a response measure taken by the Jin army in response to emergencies. It included army mobilization, logistics material preparation, and emergency troop dispatch.
Part of the process requires half a day to complete this series of measures.
There is a cavalry of 20,000 people stationed at the Ba Shangdong Camp in Chang'an. These 20,000 people can be called the elite among the elite. They are currently commanded by Pei Xin. Although Pei Xin was demoted due to reckless actions during the Battle of Mengjinguan
, but Guo Song did not lose trust in him and appointed him to command this rapid response army.
Just after noon, Pei Xin received an emergency troop dispatch order issued by King Guo Song of Jin. However, the tiger talisman for dispatching troops had not yet been delivered, but this did not affect the assembly of the army. Pei Xin immediately ordered: "Assemble the army!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The low sound of war drums suddenly sounded in the military camp, and groups of soldiers rushed out of the military camp. A red signal flag was raised on the martial arts field, which was an order to dispatch troops.
There are many details in quick response. For example, soldiers usually wear soft military uniforms, that is, cloth military uniforms. Once there is an order to send troops, the soldiers must quickly put on their armor, pack their luggage, and organize their equipment. These problems are not big, but if the cavalry is sending troops
It also involves war horses.
War horses cannot be fed in the soldiers' tents. They must be placed in special stables. It is not a big problem for one or two soldiers to fetch the war horses, and the action will be very fast. However, if 20,000 soldiers fetch the war horses at the same time, it will be huge and very easy.
It will cause congestion and confusion. If the arrangements are not thorough, I may not be able to collect them all in one afternoon.
The soldiers put on their armor, carried their luggage bags, and rushed to the stables with their weapons. Everyone's horse was fixed and could not be taken away at will. The horses were under the unified care of hundreds of grooms. Each horse had a horse tag and a cavalryman.
The military cards are consistent.
The stables occupy a large area, with a total of twenty-four stables. There are strict regulations on where each war horse is placed, allowing soldiers to quickly find their own horses.
There was a long queue in front of each stable, with soldiers holding military badges in hand, waiting to pick up their horses. They checked the badges and picked up the horses. The speed was very fast, tense and orderly.
It only took less than an hour for 20,000 cavalry to appear on the martial arts field. On the martial arts field, logistics officials had prepared bags of dry food, and the soldiers stepped forward to collect them. There were a total of 20,000 portions of dry food, and the dry food inside could be consumed by the soldiers.
Five days, the rest depends on logistics.
At this time, Guo Song also came in person, bringing with him the Tiger Talisman and 300 firearms battalion soldiers.
"Are you ready?" Guo Song asked.
Pei Xin bowed and saluted, "Your Highness, 20,000 soldiers are ready, waiting for the tiger talisman and the order to dispatch troops.
The tiger talisman is easy to understand. Without the tiger talisman for dispatching troops, leaving the military camp without authorization is a rebellion. But the tiger talisman alone is not enough. There must also be order arrows for dispatching troops. The order arrows are detailed tasks. Pei Xin only knows that troops must be dispatched urgently, but he does not know where to send troops.
.
Guo Song took out the tiger talisman and handed it to him, and then ordered: "Go to Ziwu Valley and send troops to Hanzhong immediately!"
"Follow the order!"
Pei Xin galloped on his horse and shouted loudly: "The army sets off and aims at Ziwu Valley!"
'Woo--' The horn sounded again. Teams of cavalry turned their horses and set off.
"Your Highness wants to conquer Hanzhong personally?" Pei Xin asked the marching Sima Zhou Yidao in a low voice.
Zhou Yi smiled and said: "It's hard to guess what His Highness is thinking, but this is an opportunity to seize Hanzhong. I believe His Highness King Jin will not let it go."
"What happened?" Pei Xin asked.
"I'll tell you slowly on the way back. Now the troops are very fast. If Cao Liwei regrets returning the things, he will lose his chance."
Twenty thousand cavalry were like a rushing torrent, rushing towards Ziwu Valley. At this time, a logistics army composed of 5,000 camels and 3,000 soldiers also set off from Chang'an.
……….
Sixty thousand kilograms of saltpeter mines were seized in Hanzhong. Zhang Lei received a letter from Fei Ge, but due to limited space, he did not know some details. This incident was not caused by the capriciousness of Cao Liwei, the military governor of Hanzhong, but by a talkative clerk who accidentally
The secret was revealed.
Nearly two hundred carts, 60,000 kilograms of saltpeter and a large amount of other materials attracted Cao Liwei's attention. He came to check the saltpeter in person. The tax bill said "mirabilite", but he didn't know what it was.
An equally uninformed clerk introduced him to the functions of Glauber's Salt, which can be used as medicine to treat skin diseases, can be used to tan animal hides, and can be used to ignite fires...
But the words "set fire to burn" suddenly made Cao Liwei nervous. He ordered a piece of saltpeter to be thrown into the fire. As a result, the flames exploded and tongues of flame rose ten feet high, causing people around him to exclaim.
Cao Liwei immediately realized that this batch of supplies was probably not as simple as medicine, but most likely military supplies. Maybe the Jin army's mysterious iron fire thunder was made from it.
Chang'an strictly prohibited military armor, pig iron and other strategies from flowing into Bashu. Bashu also strictly prohibited the transportation of military supplies to Chang'an. This batch of saltpeter obviously belonged to the military category.
Cao Liwei immediately ordered the seizure of 60,000 kilograms of saltpeter and sent people to Chengdu to deliver the message.
Hanzhong is composed of five prefectures, including Jinzhou, Yangzhou, Fengzhou, Liangzhou and Xingzhou. Liangzhou is the population, economic and military center of Hanzhong. The prefecture governs Nanzheng County, which is the largest city in Hanzhong, with a population of ten.
More than ten thousand.
It can be said that as long as the city of Nanzheng is captured, Hanzhong will basically be captured. On the one hand, most of the population of Hanzhong is concentrated in Nanzheng, and on the other hand, the Southern Tang only stationed 15,000 troops in Nanzheng.
There are currently four types of armies in the Southern Tang Dynasty. The first is the Shence Army, which currently has a total of 50,000 people. It is the elite army of the Southern Tang Dynasty. It is stationed in Chengdu and defends the capital. It is completely controlled by the eunuchs of Beiya.
The second type of army is called the foreign army. The armies of Guo and Song Dynasty cannot be mentioned. It mainly refers to the army formed by Han Huang on the two Zhejiang roads, Liu Qia's army on the east side of the Yangtze River, stationed in Yuzhang and Jiujiang, and Ma Sui's army on the west side of the south of the Yangtze River.
The army was stationed in Yueyang and Changsha, then there was the powerful Yangtze River navy stationed in Jiangling, and then there was the army of Li Si, the Lingnan military governor. These five armies numbered about 100,000 people, and they were all supported by local taxes.
, the imperial court basically didn't care about their military salaries, military rations, or their generals. These five armies were in a semi-feudal state.
The so-called semi-feudal town means that the military is independent, but the local government is still under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.
The third type of army is called the Bashu Army, which mainly includes the Bayu Military Envoy from Dugu Dashi, the Jiannan Military Envoy from Changsun Quanxu, and the Hanzhong Military Envoy led by Cao Liwei. They have the smallest number of troops, only about 50,000.
It is also the eunuchs who are trying their best to infiltrate and control the army. At present, the Hanzhong Jiedu Mansion has been captured by the eunuchs. The next step is the Bayu Jiedu Mansion and the Jiannan Jiedu Mansion. In fact, the eunuchs have the financial power, and it is only a matter of time before they are captured.
The fourth category is called scattered troops, that is, soldiers from various states and counties and townships. They are not large in number, totaling only 30,000 to 40,000 people.
The Hanzhong Army has about 15,000 people and is stationed in the Nanzheng Camp. It has been completely controlled by Beiya. After Cao Liwei took office, he replaced all the generals promoted by Guo Yao. All generals above the brigade commander were brought by his own soldiers.
Take office.
Most of these soldiers were of low quality and greedy. They cruelly exploited merchants and subordinate soldiers, had lax military discipline, plundered people's property, and often abused people's women. As a result, Guo Yao's originally well-managed army began to deteriorate.