Chapter 65 After the Battle (2)

Hou Dayong asked Fu Ying and Zong Lin, and a gentle smile appeared on Meng Shu's lips: "Miss Fu is a hero among girls. She is very rude and has her in charge of Daliang. The business of the rich shop is booming. Zong Lin is so beautiful that he is the most loved by His Majesty. He often asked Queen Fu to bring Zong Lin to the palace."

Zhai Zhixing is a scholar with Confucianism. He has deep-rooted prejudice against business people. When he heard Meng Shu talk about business affairs, he frowned unconsciously.

Hou Dayong saw Zhai Zhixing's expression very clearly. Liang Shouheng followed him for a while and his concepts changed slightly. Zhai Zhixing has been in Zhongmu County and talked about agriculture. From this expression, we can see that he has a deep prejudice against merchants.

Hou Dayong took Meng Shu's words and said, "There are many merchants in Fengzhou, including Tubo, Uighurs, Tang, Shu and Daliang City. Although the number is not as large as that in Daliang City, it is not inferior to Zhengzhou."

"Why do I want to welcome merchants with great fanfare, Chengzhou, Jiezhou, Fengzhou and Qinzhou, from the perspectives of cultivated land, water sources and climate, it is not very conducive to agricultural farming. If the people rely only on barren land, they will not starve to death at most. It will be even more difficult to live a better life. In the years of great disasters, the people in the four states will be displaced, which is extremely miserable."

"The four states are connected to Shu in the south, to Tubo in the west, to Dangxiang in the north, to Dangxiang in the north, and to maintain the stability of the four states and reduce the tax rate a little, a large number of merchants will be attracted to the four states. When merchants come, people, money and goods will flow to the four states. It is easier for the people of the four states to rely on skills to make a living or do a small business."

Hou Dayong's long-term discussion actually instilled some ideas into the two governors. It is unknown how much they can accept, but at least they expressed their attitude of value business and being pro-business. "Everyone, you must remember a famous saying: Only with constant property can one have perseverance. My major policy is to make the people rich, have food, have clothes, have houses, and read books. In Shu, there is a saying that no matter whether they are white and black, catching mice is a good cat. My opinion is that only when there is no violation of laws and regulations, no matter which method, it is a good way to make the people live and work in peace and contentment."

Liang, Zhai, Qian and Meng knew that the Jiedushi were giving them a lecture, so he sat upright. Zhai Zhixing felt that what Hou Dayong said was different from the words of the saint, and he was chasing money and things nakedly, but he could voluntarily say it. He wanted to argue several times, but he felt that these fallacies were not easy to refute. Moreover, Hou Dayong respected power, so Zhai Zhixing rationally chose to remain silent.

The atmosphere was a little dull for a moment, Hou Dayong smiled and said, "I won't say much today. You can experience it slowly in the future. I haven't seen a few people in a year. I have a great Zhengzhou chef here. I'll try authentic Zhengzhou dishes tonight, which can be regarded as a welcome to everyone."

Liang Shouheng and Zhai Zhixing are both civil servants. They are not talking but showing their teeth when eating, and they have to cover their faces with long sleeves when drinking. Meng Shu and Qian Xiangnan have now switched to intelligence work and don’t talk much. Hou Dayong was extremely depressed at this supper. After finally having dinner, he sent Liang Shouheng away. Zhai Zhixing and Qian Xiangnan were kept alone.

Hou Dayong knew that Queen Fu was in a weak state. In history, Queen Fu seemed to die quite early. I can't remember exactly which year, but it should be just one or two years. He asked, "Is Queen Fu in good health?"

Meng Shu said: "Empress Fu has always been in poor health. She fell seriously ill last year. She was not completely cured and she had to get sick from time to time."

"How is Fu Gong's situation?"

"Fu Gong used to be a regular and average. I wonder why he acted like this in Daliang? Madam Fu was very nostalgic. If someone else had dealt with this matter, Fu Gong would have been expelled from the rich shop."

Hou Dayong agreed with Fu Niangzi's methods very much. He said: "I agree with the view that human beings are evil in nature at the beginning, and Fu Gong's land changes. The main reason is that they are too powerful and lack of supervision. Everyone has the seeds of demons in their hearts. Only when the conditions are right will they take root and sprout. As the shopkeeper of a rich shop, you must remember Fu Gong's lessons."

Meng Shu took charge of the shops of the rich family and formed the Feiying Hall. On the surface, it was just a small military officer, but in fact he was in power, which was worse than Fu Gong. He kept placing Fu Gong as a warning. Although Hou Dayong said this, although Fu Gong was talking about Fu Gong, he actually warned him. Meng Shu said sincerely: "My sister and I were saved by the Jieshi Envoy, and my sister Meng Qing's great revenge was also repaid by the Jieshi Envoy. The Jieshi Envoy had great kindness to the Meng family, and Meng Shu would never dare to forget it."

Seeing Meng Shu a little frightened, Hou Dayong smiled and said, "I just talked about it for a few words. Meng Lang doesn't need to care. However, this is indeed a lesson. Now many branches are opened in various places, so we need to set some rules, first say it and then not be confused, so as not to take advantage of loopholes."

Hou Dayong paused for a moment and said, "From Daliang to Fengzhou, the news transmission is extremely inconvenient. I only know the general situation of the army's southern expedition. Have you collected the specific situation in this regard?"

Meng Shu took out a thick stack of paper from his arms and said, "There are many soldiers of the imperial guards in front of the hall, and there are seventeen or eighteen people who have become Feiying Hall. They are all on the front line. Du Gang disguised himself as a merchant and followed the troops' actions to keep in touch with the brothers in Feiying Hall in front of the hall. Their intelligence is very scattered. After I summarized their situation, I wrote the main things on it."

In modern society, Hou Dayong also has a little understanding of the famous story of Zhao Kuangyin, the famous Song Taizu, and the most famous one is of course the Chen family mutiny. As for how Zhao Kuangyin made achievements during the Southern Expedition and made great achievements, Hou Dayong really doesn't know.

It was still very cold in the early spring night. Hou Dayong took the situation of the southern expedition sent by Meng Shu, and flipped a few pages casually and was immediately attracted. Meng Shu was worthy of being a scholar. He wrote the Southern expedition in a comprehensive and focused manner, both of which were overall and partial battles, and he also rewritten the two battles under Zhao Kuangyin's command in accordance with Hou Dayong's request.

Scenes of fierce battles in Huainan emerged from the paper.

The Southern Expedition began at the end of August of the second year of Xiande. It has been more than seven months since then. The prime minister Li Yu led the Southern Expedition Army to defeat the Tang soldiers at Zhengyang Pass, Shankou Town and Shangyao successively. The war was quite smooth at the beginning, but when it attacked Shouzhou, he encountered trouble. Li Yu's army fought hard under the city of Shouzhou for more than June, and suffered losses of troops and generals. However, there was no progress.

Liu Renshan, the Tang general of Shouzhou, was a famous general in the Southern Tang Dynasty. He led his troops very well and was highly supported by officers and soldiers. Liu Renshan was upright and could not swear. What was worse was that he could not write lyrics. He was deeply hated by the Tang lord Li Jing. Although Liu Renshan had a high prestige in the Tang army, he was still demoted to Shouzhou. Li Jing's unintentional behavior was a nightmare for Zhou soldiers. Liu Renshan came to Shouzhou with complaints and was dissatisfied. As a soldier, Liu Renshan had a very sensitive sense of smell. He expected that the Zhou soldiers would attack the Tang territory sooner or later. The Zhou soldiers were brave and brave. The Tang army would not be the opponent in the field. Therefore, Shouzhou began to prepare for defense very early. The soldiers and the people in the city were trained, the city walls were strengthened, and the food and grass were prepared.

On the third day of the first lunar month of the third year of Xiande, Chai Rong saw that he had been unable to stop Shouzhou for a long time and could not break the deadlock. Regardless of dissuasion, the second imperial army commanded the second imperial expedition, Xiang Xun acted as the agent of Tokyo's left-behind, Wang Pu, a scholar in Duanming Palace. He ordered Han Tong to be inspectors inside and outside the capital, responsible for maintaining local public security in Tokyo.

When Chai Rong was in personal expedition, Li Jing also sent the governor of Dingyuan Army and the commander of the Shenwu Army Liu Yanzhen to lead a large army to aid.

The Southern Expedition Army failed to attack Shouzhou for a long time, and his morale was quite low. Li Gu made another big mistake at this time. He saw Liu Yanzhen advancing along the water and land, forcing Shouzhou. His army was very powerful. In order to prevent the Tang army led by Liu Yanzhen from attacking from the water. Li Gu cut off the retreat route of the Zhou army, Li Gu ordered the Southern Expedition Army to retreat from the floating bridge to the north bank of the Huai River and retreat to Zhengyang on the north bank of the Huai River. Without fighting, he gave up the bridgehead for the lives of countless soldiers. Chai Rong was so angry that he was amazed and cried by Li Gu's actions. He seized Li Gu's military power and demoted several positions in succession, ordered him to manage the local affairs of Shouzhou Prefecture, appease the people in the battlefield, and provide food and grass for the army to make up for his mistakes.

Fortunately, Liu Yanzhen was also a fool when the new Tang army was deployed in the north camp. He did not listen to Liu Renshan's opinions and insisted on not destroying the floating bridge. He wanted to use this floating bridge to cross the Huai River to destroy the Zhou army. Seeing that the commander was not aware of the current affairs and was stubborn, Liu Renshan could only sigh and return to Shouzhou. He knew that Liu Yanzhen would be defeated in this battle. After returning to Shouzhou, he ordered the whole city to mobilize again to strengthen the city defense to fight against the more fierce attack of the Zhou army.

Liu Yanzhen set up camp along the Huai River. He used a strange trick, carved it into a beast with fangs and claws, and named it "Shahama Card". He took it for granted that the Zhou army's horses would be frightened when they saw the Shahama Card, and the Tang army could take the opportunity to win.

Chai Rong was overjoyed by the report of Zhou army's detective cavalry. The Tang army did not destroy the floating bridge. He urgently ordered Li Chongjin, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to lead 10,000 Imperial Guards, to regain the bridgehead at all costs.

Li Chongjin led his army to the bridge and saw the intact floating bridge. Like Chai Rong, he scolded the Tang army for "stupid pig", and the imperial guards launched a fierce attack. What made Li Chongjin even more shocked was that the Tang army launched some inexplicable wooden signs, as if they wanted to use these wooden signs to resist the impact of the Zhou cavalry. Li Chongjin didn't know what trap this was, but at this time the arrow was already on the string and had to fire it. Li Chongjin pulled out his waist knife and rushed towards the river bank with the cavalry.

The horse-shaking card had no effect. The Zhou army's iron cavalry easily stepped on these wooden signs and rushed into the Tang army. When Liu Yanzhen saw the Zhou army rushing in, he was already panicked. Before the battle, he was shot by a scattered arrow. After falling off the war horse, his personal guards scattered, and Liu Yanzhen was trampled into meat paste by the running horse.

In this battle, the Tang army was beheaded 20,000 and buried corpses 30 miles by the Huaihe River. The Zhou army killed the Tang army's chief general Liu Yanzhen, captured the side general Xian Shilang alive, captured 300,000 Rongjia and 500 horses, and surrounded Gushouzhou again. Chai Rong took advantage of the power of this battle and personally led a large army to mobilize hundreds of thousands of civilians in eight states, including Songzhou, Haozhou, Chenzhou, Xuzhou, etc., and attacked Shouzhou day and night, but Shouzhou remained unmoved.

Liu Yanzhen was recommended by Wei Cen, deputy envoy of Privy Councilor. After Liu Yanzhen's army was defeated, Li Jing was angry and punished Wei Cen, deputy envoy of Privy Councilor, for not being allowed to enter the palace for ten days to discuss poetry and lyrics. Li Jing immediately ordered He Yanxi, the chief supervisor of the Huainan Navy, to lead about 100 naval ships, carrying more than 10,000 water, land and land soldiers to rescue Shouzhou. The Tang army camp was parked at the foot of Dangtu Mountain, half of which were arable villages and half of which were water and land, guarding the traffic between water and land.

Chai Rong sent Yuhou, the head of the palace, and the Yongzhou defense envoy Zhao Kuangyin, to fight against the Tang army in Wokou. Seeing that the Tang army was in great power, Zhao Kuangyin did not dare to attack forcefully. He used the method of pretending to be defeated and sent generals to challenge for several consecutive days. He was defeated in every battle, which finally caused the Tang army to relax. On the fifth day, the Zhou army challenged again and fled in a panic again. When the main force of the Tang army was lured to three or four miles away, he was ambushed by Zhao Kuangyin, and most of the main forces of the Tang army were annihilated. When the Tang army brigade went out to pursue the village, Dong Long, the general of Zhao Kuangyin, led 3,000 troops to sneak attack the Tang army's Hanzhai. After the Hanzhai was seized, the Zhou army set out from the Hanzhai and captured the water camp.

In this battle, Zhao Kuangyin won a complete victory, beheaded more than a thousand soldiers and soldiers from Tang general He Yanxi, surrendered more than 5,000 Tang army, captured more than 50 warships, and only hundreds of infantry left in the Tang army, which collapsed along the land; only more than a thousand navy troops saw the opportunity early, drove more than ten ships to escape to Haozhou. Zhao Kuangyin made great contributions in this battle. Not only did he defeat the Tang army in Wokou, but he also captured a navy for the Zhou army.

Shortly after this battle, Zhao Kuangyin was entrusted with important tasks again. Chai Rong gave Zhao Kuangyin eight thousand men and ordered him to attack the Tang army of Qingliu Pass in Chuzhou. Qingliu Pass was steep and the two mountains were standing together. The cliffs were dozens of feet. Tang generals Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng led 15,000 troops to guard here.

Qingliu Pass was more than 200 miles away from Shouzhou, and Zhao Kuangyin arrived in just two days. Tang generals Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng did not take the few thousand Zhou troops seriously at all. The two sides tried to confront each other several times, and Zhao Kuangyin reused the same trick and retreated more than 20 miles.

When entering Qingliu Pass, Zhao Kuangyin sent countless detective cavalry to check everywhere that there were paths to be inserted behind Qingliu Pass.

The Tang lord Li Jing listened to poems and lyrics every day, and all the government affairs were handed over to several friends, namely Feng Yansi, who was later called the Five Ghosts. Feng Yanlu, Chen Jue, Wei Cen and Cha Wenwei, were all treacherous ministers and treacherous officials, making government affairs messy. The taxes in the Tang Dynasty were particularly heavy and there were many tragic servants. The people had long been looking forward to the arrival of the Zhou army. After many efforts, the scouts sent by Zhao Kuangyin found a path under the guidance of a mysterious old scholar.

Zhao Kuangyin took advantage of the night to lead an 8,000 army around the back of Qingliu Pass. He launched a sudden attack from behind Qingliu Pass. Because the terrain of Qingliu Pass was too steep. Therefore, the Tang army concentrated heavily in front of Qingliu Pass, and there was basically no defense on the other side. Zhao Kuangyin attacked fiercely from behind, and rushed to the central army tent without much resistance. The Tang army commander Huang Fu Hui was killed in battle, Yao Feng was captured, 15,000 Tang army suffered heavy losses, and the young troops collapsed southward. The main force of the Tang army north of the Huai River was greatly damaged after this battle. However, Shouzhou was still as solid as a rock under the defense of Zhao Renzhan, and the Zhou army could only sigh at the city.

Hou Dayong closed the book for a long time and said nothing. Zhao Kuangyin did suffer any harm. Judging from the two battles in Huainan, he was brave and resourceful, and he was his strong enemy. The Black Eagle Army had only 5,000 people, plus Wang Jiang who could barely fight, Chen Renyi's infantry army had 3,000 people, but only 8,000 people. If Zhao Kuangyin had mastered the imperial guards of the Palace Front Office and the Guard Office, the total number was no less than 100,000 people, and the difference in strength was too great. Now there is more than three years before the collapse of Chai Rongjia in history. If you want to compete with Zhao Kuangyin, you must find a way to vigorously increase your strength. However, there is a problem here. The strength of each town has certain restrictions. If there are too many troops, you will be suspicious of the court. That is, you must strengthen the army, but you cannot let the court notice it. What methods can you do?

"Unity troops can be united by the four states of the people, including the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, were invaded twice within a year. This is the reason why the states stepped up their training in united troops.

Hou Dayong had an idea and walked out of the study room. Qin Jiahe and the lobby outside the study room were waiting, sitting there squinted his eyes, as if he was asleep. The door of the study room sounded softly, and Qin Jiahe's eyes were closed and he immediately opened.

"Butler Qin, is there anything wrong?" Hou Dayong set a distance for Qin Jiahe, which was the important place in the study. No one was allowed to enter without hello. This distance is no exception to Qin Jiahe. Therefore, Qin Jiahe could only wait in the hall.

Qin Jiahe cheered up and said, "No, I'm waiting here to see if there is something to do. Alang didn't sleep, how could I go to bed first."

"In the future, just send a servant to guard here. You have a lot of things to do, so you don't have to guard me."

"I'll arrange it if I'll come or not."

"No need, go back, I'll walk around the yard." Hou Dayong rubbed his eyes and said. After looking at the small words under the dim light for a long time, Hou Dayong's eyes were a little swollen and painful.

Qin Jiahe left and went back to sleep.

While doing chest expansion exercises, Hou Dayong walked towards Qiuju's yard. At this time, Xiaolu must have been asleep, but no matter how busy Hou Dayong is, he would go to see her and kiss her every day. When he just walked to a small yard, he heard a sound of piano coming from inside. The sound of piano was far away and a little sad. Hou Dayong stood at the gate of the yard and listened intently for a while. He had already remembered that there was a beautiful Uighur woman living in this yard, which was sent by Sogdian merchant Luo Ling.

At this time, a maid opened the yard gate and suddenly saw a black shadow standing outside the door. The maid ran towards the yard in shock.
Chapter completed!