Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 23 General’s Hundred Battles (Special thanks to book friend A Feimo for his monthly ticket!)

After Han Hui bid farewell to Emperor Chai Zongxun and exited the Qingshou Hall, he left the palace according to the imperial decree and went to the Yamen where the Imperial Guards and Pro-Military Division was stationed to meet with the capital commander Zhang Yongde.

Along the way, Han Hui saw a bustle of people on the ground, and all the soldiers were busy preparing for the expedition with high morale.

Seeing the deputy capital commander Han Hui, many soldiers greeted him cordially.

Walking to the gate of the capital commander's office, a moment after the announcement, Zhang Yongde summoned Han Hui to enter.

After seeing the ceremony, Han Hui briefly explained Emperor Chai Zongxun's order to Zhang Yongde.

Zhang Yongde put down the military supplies list and march map he was reading on the desk, nodded and said:
"Your Majesty ordered me to lead the Imperial Guard and Military Division to set off for the expedition within two days. I am feeling that the army has a shortage of officers since they killed Zhao Ni's party.

Deputy Commander Han has a good family background, which can help him. "

Zhang Yongde and Han Hui discussed for a while and then handed over to him the preparation of the army's weapons and bows.

At this time of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the swords and bows in the world were the most sophisticated in Liugufan (the land of Xixia in the 11th century) in the northwest. The swords and knives of the emperor, ministers and generals all used Liugufan products.

The weapons made by Zhou's own iron smelting technology are slightly less tough and rigid than those of Liugufan.

Han Hui led his soldiers that day and worked all night in the military camp and arsenal. It was not until the afternoon of February 5th the next day that he prepared the swords, bows and arrows for the army to go out.

There are a total of 2 standard swords. Starting from Xiaowei (leading 3 troops), generals are equipped with to knives or swords, which are selected according to personal martial arts.

There are 2 bows, mainly yellow birch bows, with a range of about 2 meters. 50 arrows.

Because archers require a long time to train, even among the 2 sergeants of the Zhou Dynasty's most elite imperial army, the Guards and Pro-Army Division, there are only who are well-trained enough to be archers.

The production cost of each standard sword is about 5 taels, each bow costs about tael of silver, and each arrow costs about cents of silver.

After a great war, the weapons and arrows prepared by Han Hui this time cost approximately 150,000 taels of silver, which was already the annual tax revenue of about five medium-sized state capitals at this time in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

On February 6th, Zhang Yongde, the commander of the guards and troops, entered the palace and bid farewell to Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Chai Zongxun of the Great Zhou Dynasty in the Huangyi Palace.

After seeing the ceremony, Chai Zongxun said:

"Zhang Aiqing, the decisive victory in this battle depends on whether we, the Zhou Dynasty, can defeat the Han army before the Liao army joins the war.

After discussing with the Queen Mother yesterday, I have sent an order to Li Chongjin, the commander of the German army, ordering him to set up heavy troops to defend the Khitans in Yizhou, near the border of Xingzhou and Liao Kingdom, to give Zhang Aiqing enough time to defeat the Han army.

Zhang Aiqing accompanied Taizu and the late Emperor in their campaigns in the north and south, and was skilled in the use of troops. This time, he led the most elite imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty on the expedition. I hope that Zhang Aiqing will fight steadily and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop after finding a fighting opportunity!
The Han army is about to be defeated. Yelv Jing is so indulged in wine and sex that he will have no desire to fight. Then we, the Great Zhou Dynasty, will be victorious. "

Zhang Yongde said: "I obey your Majesty's decree! With the combat power of our imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty far superior to that of the Han army, after I lead my army to Xingzhou, I will definitely look for opportunities to defeat the Han army as soon as possible!"

Queen Mother Fu said:

"Zhang Aiqing is my consort of the Great Zhou Dynasty. I hope Aiqing can live up to the expectations of this palace and His Majesty in this battle!"

After Zhang Yongde made a loud promise, Chai Zongxun gave him the seal of command. Zhang Yongde said goodbye to the Queen Mother Fu and Emperor Chai Zongxun, and strode out of the palace.

When they came out of the Donghua Gate of the palace, 60,000 uniformed guards and soldiers were already waiting on foot and on horseback in the square in front of the gate.

There are 5 infantry and 1 cavalry. This ratio is already the highest proportion of cavalry in the Zhou army.

Considering the cavalry of 200,000 people and the Liao cavalry who were skilled in bows and horses, they were indeed extremely terrifying. No wonder the Khitans invaded the Central Plains several times during the Later Tang, Later Jin, and Later Han dynasties.

After Zhang Yongde showed the military command seal to the supervisor, he mounted his horse and issued the order, and the whole army set off immediately. About a quarter of an hour after setting off from the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace, 60,000 soldiers of the Imperial Guard had already marched into a procession about five miles long, heading towards the Chaoyang Gate of the East Gate of Bianjing, with 300 carriages carrying military provisions, weapons and arrows mixed in between. .

There were huge crowds of people on both sides of the road, including many family members of the Imperial Guards who were seeing off the soldiers and the people who were watching. There was a lot of discussion at the moment.

"Liu Jun of the Han Kingdom is really nothing! When the late emperor first succeeded to the throne, the Han Kingdom united with the Khitan barbarians to raise an army to invade.

Now that the late emperor died young and the young emperor has only been in power for half a year, Liu Jun has come to attack me again, the Great Zhou Dynasty! "

"Alas! It's a pity that the late emperor died too early, otherwise the Han Dynasty would have been destroyed last year!
I heard that the new policy of reducing land rents and promoting water conservancy projects currently implemented by the court was promoted by the Queen Mother and the young emperor. For this reason, the young emperor even quarreled in the court with the ministers who opposed the reduction of land rents from 40% to 30%. !

It’s really hard for our little emperor, he is only eight years old this year! It seems that the Queen Mother and the Young Emperor are really good Queen Mother and Emperor who care about our people! "

"Who says it's not the case! As soon as the little emperor lowered the land rent, the life of the common people became much easier. Moreover, the court also sent many official teams to build water conservancy projects. My family has already gone to the Yamen of Bianjing Mansion to receive ten acres of land this spring. It’s time to clear up wasteland!

Based on the fact that the little emperor rents 30% of the land, after the second rice harvest this year, our family will have enough money to buy meat and wine during the Chinese New Year.

Lao Hu, has your family gone to the government to receive reclamation tasks? "

"Old Liu, your family has a lot of labor and can cultivate more wasteland. There are only four people in my family now, but we don't have extra manpower to cultivate wasteland.

However, after my wife heard that the imperial court implemented the new policy of "night market", she rented a stall in the "night market" after the New Year, specializing in selling snacks from her hometown Youzhou, and she also made a lot of money. "

When everyone around him heard this, they all asked about the profits of Lao Hu's night market stall.

Lao Hu said quite proudly:

"Business is pretty good!

The main "night market" is that the court only charges 20% of the business tax, and there are no other miscellaneous taxes. What's more, my father-in-law is the cook of a wealthy family in Youzhou, and my wife's cooking skills are not bad!
After paying the taxes to the court, one month's profit will be this amount. "

Lao Hu stretched out three fingers of his right hand and waved them in front of the onlookers.

One person guessed: "300 coins?"

Lao Hu smiled contemptuously and shook his head.

According to the business situation before the imperial court implemented the "night market", after setting up a stall and opening a shop and paying the imperial taxes and various miscellaneous miscellaneous fees, earning 300 wen a month was already not low. There are also many businesses that have been bankrupted and closed down by bureaucrats and military officers at all levels.

At current prices, 300 Wen is enough to feed three people for a month.

Old Liu was surprised: "Is it three taels of silver?!"

Lao Hu was startled when he heard him speak so loudly. With a hint of regret on his face, he whispered to a few people around him:
"We are all brothers who grew up in the same neighborhood. I won't hide it from you. After paying 2 taels of tax in a month, you can earn 3 taels of silver!
The new policies of the Queen Mother and the little emperor are really great for our people. Now the business policies given by the court are so good. If you can think of doing business in the night market, you will do it as soon as possible, but don't tell others! "

After hearing this, several other people responded in agreement, and began to think about what kind of business they should go to the "night market" to do their specialty. They kept asking Lao Hu for his opinion.

Not far away, a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy who was dressed in simple but very clean clothes looked at the proud Lao Hu and others, turned around, and looked at the Imperial Army of the Zhou Dynasty passing by. , sighed:

"A general will die in a hundred battles, and a strong man will return in ten years! I hope I, the Great Zhou, will win this battle!"

What the Queen Mother and Her Majesty are doing today is truly the administration of saints! I, Lü Meng, must pass the imperial examination and enter the imperial court to serve as the Queen Mother and Your Majesty, and to serve our country, the Great Zhou Dynasty! "

(End of this chapter)