Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 148: Foothold
"kill!!"

The sun was as scorching as fire, baking the cracked earth; the sound of the Yellow River, accompanied by the sound of war drums, was shocking.

Under the city of Wulan, the morale of the Guiyi Army was high. The soldiers rode on their cloud chariots and rushed to the gaps in the city wall again and again, charging at the foreign soldiers who were blocking the way there.

However, there were spears like a forest behind the gap, and the foreign soldiers on the horse paths on both sides of the gap were cautious and shot arrows like rain.

Although the soldiers of the Guiyi Army were brave, facing the continuous falling stones and arrows, as well as the dense spears in front of them, they could only retreat temporarily and regroup.

"Dang Dang Dang——"

The sound of the horn caused the Guiyi Army soldiers who were preparing to launch another attack to pause their offensive and retreat.

The bloodstained Suo Xun hurried back to the main camp and looked at Zhang Huaishen unwillingly: "Why did you sound the horn suddenly?!"

Zhang Huaishen frowned: "The gap is too small. You have failed to break through after three consecutive attacks. Your morale is already low."

"Withdraw first, use the trebuchet to expand the gap, and then attack."

A few days ago, Suo Xun, following Zhang Huaishen's instructions, found a suitable ferry along the Lanzhou Road, then led his troops across the river and seized the Hedong ferry at night.

With the ferry captured, more than 4,000 armored soldiers and more than 5,000 civilian laborers were able to cross the river and launched an attack on Ulan City, not far from the Yellow River.

Huizhou governs two counties. Both Huining and Wulan, the capitals, are close to the Yellow River. It is not easy to besiege the city, and the only way is to storm it.

It was only the second day of the assault, and Zhang Huaishen was not in a hurry, but Suo Xun was very impatient.

Changsong sent a message this morning that Liu Jilong had already recovered Guangwu in the north of Lanzhou without bloodshed a few days ago, but he was still wasting time in Ulan in the north of Huizhou.

Suo Xun, who had been wanting to compete with Liu Jilong, naturally could not admit that he was worse than Liu Jilong, so he worked so hard today, charging into the gap several times and killing more than a dozen foreigners with his own hands.

However, war is not determined by personal bravery, and he is not as brave as Liu Jilong, so he has been unable to gain a foothold in the gap.

In fact, he also knew that what Zhang Huaishen said was right, but he just couldn't swallow it.

"Just throw stones for another day. Tomorrow I will lead my army to attack and will definitely take down Wulan!"

After leaving these words, Suo Xun turned and left, while Zhang Huai took a deep breath, calmed himself down and walked back to the tent.

The captains looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

But they could feel that since the recovery of Liangzhou, the gap between Suo Xun and Zhang Huaishen had grown larger and larger, which made them feel uneasy.

"It would be great if Governor Liu was here..."

Someone sighed, and everyone's expression darkened when they heard it.

While they missed Liu Jilian, the light cavalry sent by Liu Jilian to Guzhou, led by Shang Moyan, arrived at Guangwei City, the current capital of Guzhou.

Although Guzhou is located on a plateau, several cities are located in river valleys and the altitude is not high.

In addition, with irrigation from the Yellow River and snow from the mountains, whenever there is a drought, Guzhou can be safe as long as water conservancy projects are built.

Because of this, Guzhou was able to support tens of thousands of people with its plateau area and become a populous country in Longxi.

It was already mid-June, but the Guzhou River Valley was still green and lush.

Both crops and grasslands are very lush, which seems out of place among the four prefectures of Longxi.

When Shang Moyan arrived at Guangwei Yamen with the light cavalry sent by Liu Jilong, Shang Bibi looked much fatter.

"I heard that your governor has recaptured Liangzhou and captured Guangwu?"

Shang Bibi sat in the main seat and signaled the soldiers to let her sit down.

The soldier sent by Liu Jilian was once a member of the elite cavalry of Shanzhou and is currently the brigade commander.

"Replying to Qiliben, after my governor recaptured Liangzhou, he marched into Lanzhou. If nothing unexpected happens, he has already taken Lanzhou."

The brigade commander responded, and Shang Bibi was not surprised, she just glanced at Shang Moyan.

Upon seeing this, Shang Moyan also thought of what Shang Bibi had said about Liu Jilong setting up his own business, and couldn't help but secretly sigh that his father was so foresighted.

"He sent you here, so I guess he didn't send you here to reminisce with me. Tell me, what's the matter..."

Shang Bibi picked up the tea and took a sip, while the brigade commander took out Liu Jilong's handwriting from his arms.

Shang Moyan took it and handed it to Shang Bibi. Shang Bibi also put down her teacup, took the letter calmly, opened it and read ten lines at a glance.

"Ha ha……"

Shang Bibi chuckled and said, "It's true that things change over time."

"Two years ago, I was the one who asked Governor Liu to borrow grain, but now he is the one who is asking me to borrow grain."

"My governor will definitely reward you handsomely in the future!" The brigade commander bowed solemnly, but Shang Bibi said:
"Go down and rest first. I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

"Yes..." The brigade commander knew that Shang Bibi and Shang Moyan had something to discuss, so he did not stay and left under the reception of the soldiers.

Seeing him disappear, Shang Bibi handed over the handwritten letter and said, "Take a look."

"Yes..." Shang Moyan took it and read it. There was not much content in the handwriting.

The conversation began with some pleasantries, and then Liu Jilian brought up the matter of borrowing grain and the more than 10,000 Han people.

In the letter, Liu Jilian stated that he really had nothing to give to Shang Bibi at the moment, but if Shang Bibi was willing to lend him food and people, he could provide armor and iron materials to help him capture the Tuyuhun (Qinghai) area and the Duomai (northwest Sichuan) area.

In response, Shang Moyan frowned and said, "We have promised to let Tuoba Huaiguang conquer Tuyuhun. The population in Duomai is large and the people are fierce."

"If we can capture Duomai, we will have no less than 300,000 followers. But will what Liu Jilong said now count in the future?"

It’s not that Shanzhou and Guzhou don’t have iron ore, but it’s very difficult to mine, and it almost requires human lives.

Helinwei and the seven states of Longnan do have iron and gold mines, but Shang Yanxin is not easy to deal with. The seven states of Longnan have dangerous terrain. Although they are divided, it will cost a huge price to take over any state.

Shang Bibi knew the abilities of her two sons. They knew that the complicated Longxi was not something they could defend, but Duomai was different.

Although the nobles of all sizes in Duomai are powerful, once they are conquered, basically no other forces will interfere.

If Liu Jilong could really help them occupy Duomai, then borrowing grain would be fine, but borrowing people...

"Since Liu Jilong dared to make a promise, it must be counted. I believe him on this point."

"But it's easy to repay a loan, but how can he repay a loan?"

Shang Bibi pondered, "I originally wanted to sell him the person, but now he has no food, so he wants to borrow food and people from me."

"I can keep these people to farm, but if I give them back, I will have nothing."

Hearing this, Shang Moyan said, "Then I will only lend you food, not people!"

"No." Shang Bibi shook her head, and then said: "We still have to borrow people, but we can't borrow too much, otherwise it will affect us."

"How about this, pick some people who have no skills and no family and send them to him."

"As for borrowing grain..." Shang Bibi hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly said: "I will write a letter to Tuoba Huaiguang and ask him to transfer 5,000 shi to Longzhi."

"After the autumn harvest, you will transfer another 5,000 dan of grain to make up 10,000 dan, and send some people to Wuquan to deliver it to Liu Jilong."

There were only three months left until the autumn harvest, and even though Tuoba Huaiguang occupied Shanzhou, it would not be a problem for Shang Bibi to ask him to transfer several thousand dan of grain.

"Yes!"

Shang Moyan bowed and accepted the offer, while Shang Bibi looked at Shuxin and said, "This ten thousand shi bento is to repay the favor. As for the matter of Duomai..."

He pondered for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled: "Let's wait until he captures Shang Yanxin!"

"Capture Shang Yanxin?" Shang Moyan took a deep breath and said:
"Liu Jilong only has Lanzhou, and most of the population of Lanzhou has fled. The population of Longzhi City where I am stationed is smaller than that of Longzhi City."

"With this small population, Liu Jilong can't even gather enough civilians for the army, right?"

Shang Moyan was not optimistic about Liu Jilong, but Shang Bibi shook her head and said:
"I always feel that he is not an easy person to deal with. Moreover, Shang Yanxin's five thousand elite cavalrymen were unable to defeat him. Now Shang Yanxin's strength is not as good as it was back then, while Liu Jilong has thousands of armored soldiers under his command."

"Even if he can't take over the three states of He, Lin and Wei, I'm afraid he can still make Shang Yanxin lose face."

Seeing his father say this, Shang Moyan said no more.

The next morning, Shang Bibi wrote a letter, asking the brigade commander of the Guiyi Army to lead the light cavalry back to Lanzhou.

At the same time, the news that Liu Jilian had captured Lanzhou spread to various states in Longxi over time.

"Liu Jilong took Lanzhou by surprise?"

At the end of June, Shang Yanxin in the government office of Baohan County in Hezhou leaned back in his chair with a surprised expression.

Nearly two years have passed, and Shang Yanxin is no longer as strong as he was during the Battle of Qilian City. Instead, he is becoming obese.

He had some extra fat growing on his face, and he looked several years older than he was two years ago.

The wine and meat on the table were enough to explain everything, and even though he was surprised, he still picked up the wine glass and took a sip. "This Liu Jilong, is he really going to come and recapture Longxi?"

Shang Yan was suspicious, but not worried.

The whole Longxi knows that Lanzhou has a sparse population, and the canals built by the Tang court in the past are silted up, and Longxi has no talent for water management, so the siltation situation in Lanzhou will become more and more serious.

When the weather is good, plains and basins are very popular, but in the dry season, only river valleys and valleys can people survive.

Shanzhou, Guzhou, Hezhou, Weizhou and Longnan are all places with complex terrain, but the local population is far greater than that of Lanzhou.

Snow water and rivers made it possible for them to support their local area, while Lanzhou could only flee and rely on other states.

"Qiliben, do you want to send someone to check on the situation in Lanzhou?"

A protector stood up and asked Shang Yanxin, but Shang Yanxin took a sip of wine and said, "What's so good about it?"

"Lanzhou has been badly hit by the heatwave. There are not even 3,000 men left. The farmland is silted up and barren, and the herds are pitifully small."

"Besides, I have Fenglin Pass in the north. What can Liu Jilong use to enter Hezhou?"

"Let him get through this year's drought first!" Shang Yanxin put down his wine glass, picked up a lamb chop and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

Seeing this, the protector also sat back in his seat and lowered his head to eat mutton.

Looking around, more than a dozen centurions in the inner hall were busy eating meat, while passing them and coming to the outside of the yamen, the people of Baohan were not skinny, but they had no extra fat on their bodies.

Even so, Hezhou is already one of the most comfortable places to live in the entire Hexi except Qinzhou.

At least they can still drink porridge and don’t have to eat bran or chew grass roots.

"After the autumn harvest, gather the herds and go to Qinzhou with Lu Ruyue and the others to get some food. Those guys in Chang'an love to eat sheep the most."

Shang Yanxin threw the eaten lamb chops on the table and gave orders nonchalantly.

The Protector nodded after hearing this, and then worriedly asked, "But what if the Tang generals in Qinzhou refuse to accept it?"

"Don't accept it?" Shang Yanxin snorted coldly, picked up the sackcloth and wiped his greasy hands: "Then lead the troops over and force them to accept it!"

"Yes!" A bit of ruthlessness appeared on the protector's face, and he obviously agreed with invading Qinzhou and armed trafficking of cattle.

Not only him, but all the hundred households in the yamen nodded in agreement. After all, in their opinion, how could it be as satisfying as robbing food by farming?
Since Qinzhou surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty has been continuously transporting food to the local people through the Long Road.

Qinzhou has a population of over 100,000 people, and one looting would be enough to feed Hezhou for a year or two.

Thinking of this, everyone was ready to invade Qinzhou.

However, in the days to come, what they should do is to graze and farm honestly.

As for Liu Jilong, that dilapidated place of Lanzhou was not worth their concern at all.

Perhaps in their view, Lanzhou was completely ruined, and even if Liu Jilian took over the local area, he would not be able to change the local situation.

Unfortunately, when they thought it was impossible, Liu Jilong was doing things to make the impossible possible.

"Yes, it is here. The underground channel must be at least three feet underground to prevent the river water from evaporating."

"If you need water to irrigate the farmland, just step on this small water-powered wheelbarrow."

On the second day of July, as Liu Jilian had been in charge of Wuquan for more than half a month, the situation inside and outside Wuquan City was changing little by little.

Due to the drop in the water level of the Yellow River and the siltation and damage of the canals left over from the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan years, although Wuquan City is close to the Yellow River, it is unable to irrigate every acre of land.

For Longxi, which has no water engineers, the local people are simply unable to cope with the Yellow River's 10-foot drop.

However, when Liu Jilian arrived, the first thing he did was to clean the canals outside Wuquan City and build dams and culverts to collect as much water as possible to solve the problem of irrigation.

Some wastelands that had become salinized due to excessive evaporation returned to normal after Liu Jilong diverted water into the canal and continuously irrigated and flushed them.

The ten-foot difference in height between the Yellow River and the canal is not a problem for more than a dozen large water-turning wheels. These wheels are constantly diverting water from the Yellow River into the ground canal.

The dry moat now had water, and people no longer had to walk hundreds of steps to fetch water from the Yellow River.

All of a sudden, many wastelands outside the city were reborn and planted with crops such as hemp, beans, radishes, and cabbages.

At this moment, Liu Jilian was instructing how to dig a culvert, and Zhang Chang, Shang Duoluo and others followed closely behind him.

Liu Jilong stood up and brushed the dust off his hands. His eyes stayed on the people who were busy reclaiming wasteland hundreds of steps away.

Although their clothes were still tattered, their expressions were no longer dull and they would occasionally laugh and joke while working.

They are gradually recovering the emotions that a normal person should have, and what Liu Jilong has to do is to maintain the current momentum.

"Governor, if we slaughter sheep in batches every month, I'm afraid the herd of more than 30,000 outside the city won't last long."

Ma Cheng couldn't help but complain, and Chen Jingchong followed suit: "There are more than 13,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, and they need nearly 200 dan of food every day."

"Based on the food we brought and the food we captured, it should be enough for six and a half months at most, and that's even if we slaughter the herd from time to time."

"I've checked the grain fields outside the city. They can produce up to 20,000 shi, which will help us survive for another four months."

"After all the calculations, if we want to make it to the autumn harvest next year, we have to find a way to get 12,000 to 13,000 shi."

Ma Cheng and Chen Jingchong, the two guys who used to study the hardest, are now responsible for the management of Wuquan.

For the two of them, governing Wuquan City was not difficult, because Liu Jilong would personally solve any slightly difficult problems.

However, the problem of food has always troubled them. Even though they have organized people to fish and hunt, they still cannot solve the problem they face.

Liu Jilong was very calm about this: "Don't worry too much about the food. It's just a gap of more than two months. At worst, I can shamelessly ask Zhang Jiedushi to transport some food to us, even in exchange for armor!"

He was very optimistic. After all, in his opinion, the situation in Wuquan was not as bad as he had imagined.

He even began to doubt the severe drought in Longxi after seeing the situation in Guangwu and Wuquan.

Developing and maintaining water conservancy projects should have been a normal thing, but these Jiedushi in Longxi seemed to be like machines and ignored water conservancy projects, which led to the continuous damage of the water conservancy facilities left over from the early and middle Tang Dynasty.

If these water conservancy facilities were still there, then with the help of weirs, dams, underground canals and other water conservancy facilities, the Longxi states could collect snow water and store it in underground canals, and then use water wheels to divert water to solve the problem of water supply for cultivated land.

Although there was a severe drought in Longxi, the water level had only dropped and had not yet stopped flowing.

This degree of drought is nothing compared to some of the droughts Liu Jilian experienced in later generations.

Even though he had only a limited knowledge of water conservancy, he was able to alleviate the drought in Lanzhou through simple surveying and digging for water.

If there were any skilled water engineers, they might be able to rely on the clear Yellow River upstream to completely solve the water problem in the wasteland near Wuquan City.

It’s a pity that such a skilled water engineer, who was a very sought-after figure even in the Tang Dynasty, would not appear in a place like Wuquan.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong looked at the people working in the fields ahead and asked without turning his head:

"Before winter, can the canals for these 60,000 acres of wasteland outside the city be repaired?"

"Of course!" Chen Jingchong gave an affirmative answer and said:

"However, the more than 60,000 mu of wasteland outside Wuquan City needs to be plowed after the winter, and will need to be planted in the spring of next year."

"By then, I estimate that the brothers in the army will have to work hard for half a month to complete the spring ploughing work."

"After the spring ploughing, as long as the drought doesn't get worse and there aren't any water conservancy problems, we'll be able to get rid of the food shortage problem after the autumn harvest next year."

"Okay!" Liu Jilong nodded happily, calculated the time in his mind, and then said to the generals:
"After working hard for a year, we will solve the problem of food shortage in the autumn harvest next year, and then we will send troops to retake Hezhou in the spring of the year after next."

"Once we take over Hezhou, the road ahead will be smooth!"

"Yes!" All the generals bowed and did not doubt Liu Jilong's words at all.

At the same time, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the official road in the direction of Jincheng Pass, and more than a dozen light cavalrymen galloped over.

When they saw Liu Jilong's flag planted among the crowd in the field, they dismounted from their horses on the official road and trotted towards them.

"Xilong?" Shang Duoluo and Cuoben were the first to react. They bowed to Liu Jilong and said, "Governor, Xilong and his men who were sent to Guzhou are back!"

"Oh?" After being surprised, Liu Jilong hurriedly walked towards Xi Nong and the others.

Seeing Liu Jilong walking towards him, Xi Nong quickly quickened his pace, then knelt on one knee in the field and presented Shang Bibi's handwritten letter.

"Governor, the Shang Jiedushi has agreed to lend us grain, but you still need to read the letter for details."

"Thank you for your hard work!" Liu Jilong helped him up, patted his shoulders, and said to Cuoben beside him: "Let someone kill a sheep to reward these sixteen brothers!"

"Yes!" Cuoben responded with a smile, and Liu Jilong also told Xi Nong to have a good rest before he opened Shang Bibi's letter and read it.

Soon, a smile appeared on his face, and he subconsciously looked at Chen Jingchong and Ma Cheng:
"The food and people issues have been resolved!"

(End of this chapter)