Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 199
Xishan contains the sun, and it is sunny after the rain.

Bai Fu rode a steed horse, walking gracefully, followed by his youngest son Bai Gui, his clothes were torn and bloodstained, but he was in good spirits.

There is a water pool in the distance, surrounded by several old willows, and several crows are flying around.

Bai Fu got off his horse and looked at the blue waves. After a long silence, he said in Tang official dialect: "Yaolang, many years ago, the ancestors of our Bai family plowed the fields here. We are from Huizhou, aren't we?" People from Yuanzhou."

"Did you see that ditch with reeds growing in it?" Bai Fu pointed to a place and said.

Bai Gui looked at the place where the aquatic plants were particularly lush for no reason, and nodded.

"There used to be an irrigation canal, but now it's silted up." Bai Fu said.

"Grandfather, aren't we living a good life now?" Bai Gui asked puzzled.

Bai Fu shook his head, and continued: "Back then, the Bai family of Huizhou owned hundreds of hectares of land in Huining County, with nearly a thousand households. The fertile land was beautiful and the most fertile. After a good harvest every year, the accumulated grains were like a pile of stagnant ears. The village also raises thousands of livestock, and sells a large amount of hides, tendons, and horns every year. There is another industry on the bank of the Zuli River in the south, weaving silk, and milling by the river, producing rice flour and sesame oil. You can also see the other industry But now it’s all ruins.”

Bai Gui was tongue-tied, not knowing what to say.

"There are a lot of servants in the village, and there are many people. There is even a servant named 'Villa Official' who specially takes the servants to collect rent. At its peak, it raised more than a hundred people. Ordinary sergeant." Bai Fu bent down and reached out to scoop up a handful of clear water, as if recalling the family history passed down from generation to generation.

"In the reign of Guangde, Tibet was captured, and you know all about the Tubo army's attack." Bai Fu sighed, and said: "Our Bai family was conscripted as a slave tribe, and we suffered a lot of humiliation during that time. I don't want to talk about it. If it weren't for our For the sake of being able to fight, the Bai family is probably wiped out long ago, and it is even more impossible to have the opportunity to annex the scattered tents of Dangxiang, Tuhun, and even Tubo, and become one of the majority of Hui and Yuanzhou grasslands."

"Why do you say these things?" Bai Gui was a little puzzled.

Today they had a big fight with Qu's troops, 3000 people came out in full force, and they fought very hard against [-] people.In the end, although he won and beheaded more than three hundred levels, his own loss was not small.

He originally wanted to talk to Grandpa about the annexation of several small tribes. Anyway, the King of Lingwu County nodded in acquiescence. He planned to do it these days to replenish his strength. Who would have thought that Grandpa would drag him to talk about these rotten sesame seeds? Millet's past.

"The king of Lingwu County will be leaving in a few days. You pick a hundred strong men from the clan, take the horses, and go to the Zhongyongdu." Bai Fu said suddenly.

"Grandfather..." Bai Gui was a little shocked.

He still has a lot of ambitious plans to carry out, and he has to go south to Minzhou to find someone to avenge, and he also needs to train the warriors of the clan, but you let me join the army?

"There is no need to discuss this matter." Bai Fu said without doubt: "All the ministries in Huizhou must send out people, gather a thousand riders, and return north with the king of Lingwu County."

Bai Gui wanted to say something, but when he thought of Grandpa's uncompromising temperament, he immediately died down.He also knew about the loyalty and bravery, and the various tribes in the grassland sent warriors there to serve the Great Khan.The king of Lingwu County was obviously the Jiedu envoy of the Tang Dynasty, but he became addicted to being a khan.

"Then what should we do here?" Bai Gui asked unwillingly.

"The Fufuling family in Minzhou received the gold and silk from the king of Lingwu County and expelled the Qu family. Now they are a group of lonely ghosts, sometimes fleeing to Jingyuan Town, sometimes fleeing to Huizhou, and sometimes fleeing to other states , Looting small tribes. This is not a long-term solution, it’s fine if you keep winning, but as long as you lose once or twice, you will be wiped out sooner or later, and the tribe will disperse.” Bai Fu said.

In fact, the Bai Family Department is very interested in annexing the Qu family.They have already swallowed up some small tribes that escaped from Yuanzhou, and their strength has been enhanced to a certain extent. If they can gather the Qu clan again, they will suddenly become a big tribe that is proud of Yuan, Wu, Wei, Min, Hui and other states. tribe.

This is Bai Fu's desire, and it is also the Bai family's desire.

I can't go back to the Bai family in the first year of Guangde. From now on, there will only be a Bai family with cattle and sheep.I just don’t know if the King of Lingwu County will give them this chance. Bai Fu was looking for someone to inquire about the preferences of the King of Lingwu County recently. as an example.

The Wei Cai Department is a member of the party, and the Bai Family Department is a survivor of Tianbao!
The king of Lingwu County has great ambitions, and he should want to annex Liangzhou Yanmo.Yanmo is also a survivor of Tianbao, almost the same situation as the Bai family, and more powerful, there were more than ten thousand accounts 30 years ago, and now the momentum of rise is quite fierce, and the strength will only become stronger. Even if the king of Lingwu County just wants to pretend , will also treat the Bai family well.

"Go to Zhongyongdu, fight hard, and strive to become the general of the Yamen." Bai Fu urged.

******
"In the past, when the Xiazhou city tower placed wine, General Yang wanted to attack Hexi, so someone agreed. How, has the promise been fulfilled today?" Shao Shude asked with a smile while sitting under a big elm tree in a small village outside Huizhou city.

"It's really unexpected that the commander-in-chief captured the Hexi states so quickly." Yang Yue also laughed.

He has been appointed as the military envoy of the Xinquan Army.The number of troops in this army is tentatively set at 4000, of which 3000 are soldiers from Fengxiang and Chen Xucai. Make up the shortfall.

The remaining 1000 men were newly recruited from Hengshan and Hetao grasslands, including [-] cavalry.

The Xinquan and Feng'an armies have already headed to Xiazhou, waiting for the main force to be reorganized.After the reorganization is completed, they have rested for a few months, and then they can set off for Huizhou. By then, Xinquan Military City should also be repaired, just in time for the garrison.

The main force of the Dingyuan Army will be stationed at Huining Pass, and part of it will be stationed in Zhoucheng.After the city wall is repaired and the state soldiers are formed, they will all be moved to Huining Pass to station.The grasslands in the south will be temporarily handed over to the tribes who have taken refuge in them until the people from the nest come to cultivate them.

"Someone wants to attack Lanzhou next year." Shao Shude said.

Yang Yue had a hunch.The Dingyuan Army and Xinquan Army are stationed here, and more than [-] troops from the Tielin Army, Wuwei Army, Iron Cavalry Army, and Yi Cong Army will be recruited next year. At that time, [-] troops will march westward along the Yellow River. overwhelming.

Is it difficult to take down Lanzhou?Maybe there are a few more, such as Minzhou and Weizhou (not Weizhou in Jingyuan), etc.But it also depends on the commander-in-chief's mind, he - after all, is someone who wants to fight for the world.

Yang Yue has no loyalty to the imperial court. His only obsession is to defeat Tubo and recover Hexi and Longyou prefectures.What does it matter to me who is the emperor in the Central Plains?

The king of Lingwu County is now blocked in the direction of expansion. To the north is the desert grassland, to the east is Li Keyong in Hedong, and to the south is Guanzhong. None of them can expand, and in a short time, they can only move westward.Yang Yue always felt that if he didn't take advantage of these few years to fight westward, when Lingwu County King decided to go south, he might have no chance.

He still wants to win the world in the end. Nowadays, there should be a lot of feudal commanders in the world who have this idea, and the Central Plains is the fat that attracts them the most.If there is a chance, the King of Lingwu County will definitely stop going west and turn to the east and south to expand.

Yang Yue now only hopes that there will be no problems on the east side of the river, and that the Chang'an court will not mess around, and everything will remain the same, forcing the king of Lingwu County to expand westward.Although most of them will go south in the end, but before that, they can collect as much as they can from the old land of Helong. This is Yang Yue's idea.

"The Western Expedition is very important. Although the enemy's strength is not strong and they are scattered, we must not be careless. If possible, we must obtain the name of the imperial court, which will help to pacify the place." Shao Shude said.

Although Datang is on the verge of collapse, this signboard is really useful in the Helong area.The Guiyi Army needs the name of the imperial court to suppress the Fan tribes within its jurisdiction.If the Dingnan army fights over, they will definitely pull up this tiger's skin.What's more, there are also vassals and towns in the area that are nominally under the control of the imperial court, such as the Guiyi Army in Gua, Sha and other places, and Hexi Town in Liangzhou. .

"What's the general's strategy for Huizhou?" Yang Yue asked again.

"Send over five thousand nest members first. This generation is the old men of Meng Kai who were captured in Gaoling. After several years of hard labor, they are now under control. When you come to Huizhou, they will give Tian Yi For a while, they can’t farm by themselves alone. Envoy Yang Jun can take them to hunt grass and valleys, and capture some slaves to help them plant land and raise livestock. On the other hand, they have not married wives yet, so they have to find a way to catch them. Some grassland women came back to enrich their household registration."

"It seems that this Caogu has to be fought, but there are too few cavalry. The Dingyuan and Xinquan armies only have [-] cavalry, so there is nothing to do." Yang Yue did not reject Caogu at all, but became worried. Solved the problem of insufficient cavalry.

"Let the attached tribes send troops together, and everyone will share the benefits together." Shao Shude said confidently.

"That's all right." Yang Yue replied.

There are various ministries attached to Huizhou, and the population is almost counted now.Even counting those who escaped from Yuanzhou, there are only more than [-] people from the eight tribes. Adding [-] to [-] Han people, this population is really too small, and the total is only [-].If [-] nesters come here and marry them wives, the population will suddenly increase by [-] people, and they will still be high-quality people for farming, and the foundation of Huizhou will be greatly enriched.

"Someone will ask Han Jian to be the governor of Huizhou and lead the affairs of the state. We must cooperate sincerely, and don't miss the big deal."

"Don't worry, Marshal, one's wish is only to recover the Helong states." Yang Yue replied.

After ventilating with Yang Yue, Shao Shude found time to meet Wang Yu again.

He actually likes these two people, because they both have clear demands, or ideals.For such people, as long as you satisfy their wishes, there will be no problem in loyalty.

Yang Yue's ideal is to regain the old land of Helong, and Shao Shude knew about it the night of the banquet at Xiazhou City Tower.

Shao Shude is also very clear about Wang Yu's ideal.This man was born as a brave general, and he was extremely brave. Historically, after Li Xiang was killed by Huang Chao's supervisor, more than 1 people lost their lives, and finally returned to Wang Yu and surrendered to Wang Chongrong.

In terms of the number of kills, Wang Yu is well-deserved number one in the Dingnan Army, far exceeding No.2.But such a murderous guy also has an unknown weakness. He killed himself so much that he was afraid of being killed by others, so he could only show a more ruthless attitude than others, killing more people, safe feeling very bad.

Wang Yu once said to himself that in today's world, "wolves are everywhere", "even warriors are afraid", this is not a lie.

As a murderous man, he is very eager to establish a stable order. Men farm and women weave, and live a leisurely life. I don't know what kind of mental journey he has experienced.

Yang Yue and Wang Yu were not Shao Shude's subordinates when they started, but joined them halfway through. However, Marshal Shao trusted them very much and was willing to entrust them with important tasks.

The prisoners in Chao are actually a bit rebellious. I don't know what kind of expression they will have when they see Wang Yu, a former "star general" of the Chao army. They should restrain themselves a lot.

On March 25th of the second year of Guangqi, Shao Shude returned to Lingzhou by boat from Huining Pass, with only a few hundred soldiers with him.

As soon as he arrived, the people from the Watch Department sent him several pieces of information.

"Li Kan is acting so fast, he has been in Kuizhou for a long time. Is he going to ask me to buy a war horse?" Shao Shude put down the information in his hand, slightly surprised.

Li Kan took away one or two thousand Binning troops, and recruited more than a thousand Dongshan party members and more than a thousand Tubo soldiers in Qingzhou. Together with the escort of a thousand Shence troops, a total of 5000 people went south, walking first, and then taking a boat , traveled lightly all the way, and arrived in Kuizhou at the beginning of this month.

After taking office, Marshal Li discovered that there are many warlords in the five states of Kuixia, which is really difficult to deal with.In particular, a former Jingnan government general named Guo Yu occupied Guizhou, proclaimed himself governor, recruited refugees, cultivated wasteland, and had [-] soldiers on hand. He was very disobedient.

Li Kan is also an old soldier. The Tubo people recruited from Gyeongju are good cavalry, but they have no horses, so they set their minds on Shao Dashuai, who owns two horse farms (Tiandejun Yongqingzha and Yinchuan Ranch in Yinzhou).

This is nothing at all, business, who do you want to do with?Li Kan wants to buy it, so it is not impossible to give a preferential price.

It's just that Li Kan doesn't seem to have any money...

What he can really control now is Kuizhou. The other four prefectures each have governors, and they are all separatist warlords, which is really painful.What Li Kan meant was to pay part of it first, and pay the balance after he conquered the gorge and returned to Erzhou.

Marshal Li also said that those two states are facing the threat of the Qin Zongquan Department, and it is not difficult to defeat them. As long as they control these two states, they will have wealth.

Don't have money to buy a horse?You have such a big face!

Shao Shude originally wanted to refuse directly, but when he saw the word Qin Zongquan, he thought about it.In history, Qin Zongquan sent people to invade the south. Although they failed in the end, many generals and soldiers descended to the southern feudal towns and became elites in their hands, such as Yang Xingmi's "Heiyundu", and even became the founding monarch. , such as Ma Yin.

Sergeants Chen, Xu, and Cai are indeed elite.Jingnan and other towns have recruited a lot of surrendered soldiers and generals. Isn't this exactly what I need?I just don't know if Li Kan is reluctant to part with it. After all, good soldiers are also a kind of strategic resource.

If you want to buy a horse, you have to exchange it for a man!I sent them to Helong, so that the local forces in Minzhou, Weizhou, and Lanzhou could also see how powerful the Ogre King's army is.

Hitting Caogu on the head of Caizhou Bing is not a fun thing.

There is also that Guo Yu, who seems a little familiar, but I can't remember it for a while.However, there must be a reason for the impression I left, so I can pay more attention to it.He only had [-] soldiers. I heard that he was recruited and trained from the refugees. He probably wasn't a match for the Northwest soldiers that Li Kan brought over. If you catch this guy, you can try to get him over.

(End of this chapter)