stubborn thief

Chapter 416 Borrowing the Way
In the golden autumn of August, just a few days after Liu Chengzu and Chengyun returned to Xincheng, the three brothers were discussing their marriage when a letter from Song Shouzhen came from the east, and the messenger said joyfully, "Marshal, good news, we lost sixty miles to the east!"

The four castles and three piers of the Marshal's Mansion in the Zhuanglang River Valley from Yehubao to the mouth of the river were all lost.

Liu Chengzong just found out that the sixty-mile valley belonged to the Marshal's Mansion last month, and less than half a month had passed before that good land was gone.

But it is indeed good news, because although the land is gone, there is no shortage of food that should be harvested. More than 3 stone grains have been harvested on nearly [-] mu of land. During the day and night, the food was divided into three routes, and all were transported to the territory under the jurisdiction of the Marshal's Mansion.

Jing Xiaoliu, the guard of the Wild Fox Fort, did not participate in this massive operation. He did a bigger thing, which directly caused Song Shouzhen, who was entrusted by the carrier with full authority to take charge of the military and civil affairs of Dongguan Town, to order to abandon the land and shrink the defense of Dongguan. Close five sharp-angled enemy towers.

Jing Xiaoliu led Zhuang Langwei's flag army, and took Zhuang Langwei's army to collect the fields, and transported 200 shi of grain and [-] shi of flax seeds back to Dongguan Town, and abducted more than [-] banner troops. .

Liu Shizi smiled and said, "Who would dare to squat in Zhuanglang River after doing such a great deed."

Song Shouzhen said in the letter that this matter was actually out of control. Their original idea was just to collect two or three thousand acres of land to weaken the combat effectiveness of the Zhuanglang Guard Banner Army.

But Jing Xiaoliu was discovered and surrounded by the Banner Army when collecting grain, and finally the two sides reached an agreement. The Banner Army thinks that your Marshal’s Mansion wants to collect grain, but this is the only thing left when our army’s farmland has been seized, so it must not be moved. .

But we can take you to find those military farms occupied by powerful generals, we will collect them, and the food will be divided into five and five, and you, Jing Xiaoliu, will bring the food back to the Marshal’s Mansion, and we will take the food to the marshal’s mansion, and grab the food Everything is pushed to the head of the Marshal's Mansion.

Jing Xiaoliu felt that he had saved his life, and he also brought in many accomplices. The two sides hit it off, and the Banner Army continued to participate. The scale of the situation continued to expand, and finally tens of thousands of acres of land were collected.

In fact, if Jing Xiaoliu was willing, it would not be impossible to instigate an attack on the Acropolis while taking advantage of the strength of the Banner Army.

But on the one hand, he doesn't have this skill, and on the other hand, he really didn't think about it... Isn't food more comfortable than a useless city?The city has to be defended after it is defeated, and if two thousand defenders are raised, this little food will be enough to last until next summer.

After summer, he still has to plant the land next year. The city has been taken down, so it's his turn to plant this land?
Jing Xiaoliu felt that it was better to transport the grain back to Dongguan.

Therefore, this was indeed good news for Liu Shizi, and he immediately wrote back to Song Shouzhen, asking him to transport the grain to Nianbo, record the meritorious service of these rural soldiers, and ask Jing Xiaoliu to come to Xincheng with the meritorious deeds.

But despite being happy, Liu Chengzong did not relax his vigilance. On the same day, he summoned Wang Wenxiu who had just returned to Xincheng with his troops, and after discussion, he transferred his general Yang Chengzu to lead the first battalion of the headquarters to help defend Dongguan.

It's autumn.

This is a very dangerous season, especially in Dongguan where the Yellow River and the Zhuanglang River meet at the mouth of the Sancha River. The southeast is Lanzhouwei, the west is Marshal's Mansion Dongguan Town, and the north is Zhuanglangwei.

Even if there is no such thing, there is a powder keg over there.

The flag army in Lanzhou was very nervous. They patrolled along the river all day long. That Lanzhou general, Shi Xiang, sent someone to find a carrier every two days. Cross the river, but the soldiers of the Marshal's Mansion should not come to rob Lanzhou.

The Minzhuang of the Marshal's Mansion in Dongguan was also very nervous. The Minzhuang of the five towns of Hehuang were all pushed to the front line. Some guarded the five enemy towers in Dongguan at the mouth of the river, and the remaining township soldiers were gathered in Dongguan to help the townships westward. Guaranteed to grab the fields.

Even the ferry on the Yellow River is closed.

After fighting two battles in a row, Liu Shizi planned to let the soldiers of the Marshal's Mansion rest this winter, spend a few months between Xincheng and Xining, and arrange the marriage of their three brothers by the way.

The customs in Shaanxi are different from those of the grasslands, and the structure of the Marshal's Mansion is also different from the tribal alliance of the feudal nobles. After some discussion, the three brothers finally decided that all eight of Lin Danhan's concubines belonged to Liu Chengzong, and the elder brother waited for the nobles of Oirat to send their daughters to Liu Chengzong. Sent to get married, also eight.

There are also some Mongolian nobles who support Liu Chengzong as Khan, he can't take care of them, so the carrier can't be idle. There are currently six of them. Just add two more to the carrier.

But before that, Liu Shizi had to marry the three wives who had already followed him.

Therefore, from this autumn to the next spring, Liu Shizi's schedule is almost full. He will hold the imperial examination in Hehuang, set up six departments, get married and have children.

Liu Chengzong wrote two letters to Cao Yao and Yang Dingrui of the Kangning Mansion, informing them that he and his elder brother were about to get married, and asked them to come back. By the way, he asked them both for their suggestions on who would take over the military and political affairs of the Kangning Mansion.

As the stalls in the Marshal's Mansion grew bigger and bigger, Liu Shizi felt more and more powerless, not because of their shallow foundation, but because the fragmented territory of the Marshal's Mansion was too difficult to manage.

He carefully considered his needs, and found that when he dispatched officials to Kangning, the first thing to consider was not the political ability to govern the local area or the military ability to lead troops to fight wars, but the ability to govern... This is very outrageous.

There are many generals and officials who are talented in the Marshal's Mansion, but when it comes to ruling ability, there are not many people in the Marshal's Mansion who have this skill.

The key is that if there is this thing, it will be there, if it is not there for the time being, that would be the best, and we dare not cultivate it.

No matter what, Liu Shizi must call Cao Yao and Yang Dingrui out of Kangning. The independent generals and the feudal officials who rule a single place are the prerequisites for their armed group to enter the Central Plains.

As for the person to replace them, Liu Chengzong had a candidate in mind. The difficult tasks in the Kangning Mansion were basically completed by the two of them in the past two years.

Liu Chengzong planned to send Liu Guoneng and Liu Jiusi to replace Yang Dingrui; Huang Shengxiao took Ah Liu and Basang, two generals from Kangning Mansion, back to replace Cao Yao, Luo Rucai, Li Laozhen and uncle Cai Zhongpan.

Liu Guoneng has done a good job in Haixi County, and he may not be able to rule a mansion, but the affairs of Kangning Mansion are easier to handle than Xining Mansion.

Sending Heavenly Monkey Liu Jiusi to Kangning Mansion as an acquaintance, on the one hand, can help Liu Guoneng, on the other hand... Liu Shizi also believes that after two years of preparation, Kangning Mansion should be self-sufficient in agriculture.

The policy implemented by the Marshal's Mansion in Kangning is not tax exemption. The Kangning Mansion has been collecting taxes there, and the tax rate is quite high. Liu Chengzong originally said that he would set two taxes and one tax. In the end, Yang Dingrui proposed three taxes and one tax rate based on the actual situation. down.

However, they received the Marshal Tongbao made by the Kangning government itself. The government set an official price for the grain, and the county government bought it, and then received copper coins according to the yield per mu.

But at the level of the Marshal's Mansion, the Kangning Mansion is almost exempt from taxation.

Every year, only [-] to [-] catties of gunpowder and [-] altars of sauerkraut are transported to Xining Prefecture. The year before last, a hundred or so armors were shipped, but this year no armors were shipped, because there was a war going on in the north, and I was afraid that the armors would be robbed. Distributed to the postmen at the stations along the way, let them arm themselves.

In general, the value of the goods transported to Xining by Kangning Prefecture in two years is roughly equal to the normal taxation of a large county in the Central Plains for one year.

The distance is long and the transportation cost is too high, which is something that no one can do.

But now, Liu Chengzong believes that this problem has been solved.

Heavenly monkey Liu Jiusi presided over the establishment of an iron factory in Juerwan, and Huang Shengxiao had experience in supervising and manufacturing firearms and self-made artillery. Liu Chengzong planned to let them go to Kangning Mansion to explore ore and repair the iron factory and expand the Kangning Military Bureau.

The Western blacksmiths in Kangning Mansion are not bad at forging. As long as they are guided, they are completely capable of forging bird guns, not to mention that the local forests and minerals are very rich.

Under normal circumstances, the transportation cost of these things made Liu Chengzong feel like a chicken rib. Now that there is an arms trade with Tianshan, as long as the bird guns are transported there, the high profits can fully make up for the road consumption.

However, although Liu Shizi decided to let Ah Liu and Basang lead troops to replace Luo Rucai and Li Laozhen, he was still undecided whether to let Luo and Li lead troops back.

Liu Shizi used to think that the Sichuan Basin was a big plain, but now he has Chen Min with the word "Tianwang" tattooed on his face. This Bazhou student gave him a better understanding of Sichuan.

The plain of Sichuan is in Chengdu. If you enter Sichuan from the north, even if you take Hanzhong, the six prefectures of Long'an, Baoning, Kuizhou, Shunqing, and Chongqing are covered with mountains.

If the mountains and plateaus in northern Shaanxi are separated by dirt roads, then the mountains in Sichuan are higher than those in northern Shaanxi, and they are blocked by rivers.

This is the difficulty of entering Sichuan. As long as it is blocked before entering the Chengdu Plain, it will be a collapse if it is blocked.

In fact, Liu Chengzong knew that the closest strategic goal in front of him was not Sichuan, but the Yongliang land west of Guyuan.

They are Gansu, Lintao and Gongchang.

Occupying these places is already very difficult for the Marshal's Mansion, it is difficult to defeat them, and it is even more difficult to hold them in their hands.

This means either not fighting, and maintaining the self-sufficiency that is now on the verge of danger, waiting for the world to change; if there is a fight, the war cannot end after taking Yongliang.

Taking Yongzhou and Liangzhou, the most difficult days for the Marshal's Mansion are over. In Gansu, Lintao, and Gongchang, there are about 200 million people and about [-] troops. What is the concept?
This ratio may be high, but for Liu Chengzong, this is a ratio that can dilute the militarism of the Marshal's Mansion.

Hehuang has a population of 70, half of which are self-sufficient in the mountains, while the rest support nearly [-] troops.

Winning the west of Liupan Mountain means that the population composition ratio of the Marshal's Mansion will enter the normal range. At that time, even if Liu Chengzong doesn't want to continue to fight, the sergeants under his command and the generals around him will watch the Guanzhong Plain and the Sichuan Basin. , Ningxia Hetao is close in sight and the soldiers are stopped?
Impossible.

Not to mention that the Chengdu Plain also has an unparalleled temptation for Liu Shizi.

The territory he occupies is six or seven times as large as Sichuan, but the population, grain production, production capacity, and arable land of these places combined are not comparable to a small Chengdu.

Taking Ningxia Hetao is to make money, taking Guanzhong Plain will spread the front line, and taking Sichuan...he will become big.

Even though he knew it would be difficult, he still wanted to make preparations first. If he had the opportunity to enter Sichuan, it would be too uncomfortable if he failed to enter and was beaten out.

Therefore, he wanted to keep the two armies of Luo and Li near Dajianlu. If there was a chance to enter Sichuan, the North Road would take Hanzhong as the base of advance, take down Long'an Mansion and Songpanwei, and send messengers to go through the mountains controlled by Jinchuan Tusi. Site, pass the news to Dajian Furnace.

At that time, even if the [-] troops of Kangning Mansion can only have three thousand headquarters from Yazhou to enter the plains, they will be able to provide a strong boost to the war.

In addition, there is another key node that has not been opened, that is, the local elite soldiers in Sichuan will be transferred to the Central Plains and Liaodong by the imperial court, and the officers and soldiers who stay in the basin are not a concern, but the chieftain soldiers in Sichuan are dreadful.

His army entered Sichuan from the north and the south. I am afraid that it would be difficult for fine cavalry and heavy artillery to cross the mountain roads.

So Liu Chengzong needs another person, Zhang Yuanheng.

This dick, no, this no dick was sent by Liu Chengzong to Songpanwei to incite the flag army that year, and later he went to Dajian stove to find Liu Chengzong in vain. Uncle Cai Zhongpan saw that he was a scholar, so he stayed by his side to take care of the stove The matter of the Huo County Government.

Liu Chengzong wanted Cao Yao to bring him back as well.

This man has not been a serious eunuch for a few days, but he has served as a banner soldier in Songpanwei for a long time. If Long'an Mansion is taken down, it would be perfect for him to take care of Songpanwei.

Taking Songpanwei can not only contact Dajian Furnace and create convenience for the north-south attack, the most important thing is that Songpanwei has military craftsmen and the ability to forge artillery.

As long as they are stationed in Songpanwei for one and a half months, they can cast a batch of artillery and shells and knock down every battlement in Chengdu.

According to the situation of Songpanwei being bullied by Baicaoqiang, Liu Chengzong estimated that Songpanwei would probably give up after taking Long'an Mansion, so the only problem is time.

Songpan Grassland is only easy to travel between May and August every year, that is to say, if the Marshal’s Mansion can push the front line to Liupan Mountain on the North Road and occupy Hanzhong on the South Road before June next year, then he can try to enter Sichuan.

That is the beginning of war in spring.

In the yamen of Shuaifu, Liu Chengzong looked at Che Cai, an old student from Shanxi in front of him, and asked: "The officials in Lanzhou are really good, and they actually managed to find you. Who asked you to come?"

Che Cai was terrified when he first entered the Shuai's office, but when he heard this, his heart broke, and the Generalissimo suspected that he was a spy!

He was so frightened that he quickly shook his head: "Master Mingjian, I was not recruited by Lanzhou officials, it was officials I sought. It happened that Master Bai from Gansu was in Lanzhou. He heard that I knew General Fan from the commander's mansion, so he asked me to bring some The birth attendant is here."

"Master Bai of Gansu, who is it?"

Che Cai's eyes widened, your enemy, you don't even know who it is?He said: "Governor of Gansu Bai Yi Qingbai master."

Liu Shizi was wondering if it was fake, so he let it go so easily?

But I didn't expect Che to salute respectfully, and said: "General Marshal, I came here to thank you for your kindness in avenging my family in the early years, and secondly, I was entrusted by Shanxi Xiru Gao Yizhi. The commander-in-chief is going to India by way, please make it easier for the commander-in-chief."

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)