Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 206 Multiple Bets
"Xilulu!"

"Okay! Okay..."

At the end of October, when the sound of mules and horses rang out in the north of Chengdu, Bai Minzhong's praises almost never stopped.

At this time, Bai Minzhong reached out and touched a sturdy draft horse, followed by Yang Fugong and many generals from Xichuan.

"Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, we have always used horses from Hebei, Hetao, Longyou and other places as our cavalry."

"In the past, Tubo occupied Longyou and few horses left Longyou. Now that Liu Jilong has recaptured Longyou, I have also seen horses from Longyou."

Bai Minzhong praised him generously, and Yang Fugong also bowed and said:

"There are more horses than mules in Longyou, so I only bought 1,300 mules. 1,300 horses, more than 100 less than the prime minister ordered. Please punish me."

Seeing Yang Fugong say this, Bai Minzhong laughed out loud and said, "It only cost less than 8,000 pieces of brocade and silk to buy back so many mules and horses. What crime has Zi Ke committed?"

Bai Minzhong praised him, but the generals in Xichuan sneered at him. They all felt that Yang Fugong, as an official of the Northern Court, was shameless in currying favor with officials of the Southern Court.

Yang Fugong did not take the contempt of the Xichuan generals seriously, and just bowed to Bai Minzhong and said;
"Sikong, there are a lot of horses in Longyou. I have seen nearly 100,000 horses in the past few days."

"In addition, I have learned that the Longyou Army has more than 16,000 people, including 4,000 elite cavalry, each riding two horses, and the rest are all cavalry, pulling carriages or pulling horses as marching force."

Yang Fugong's words immediately shocked the generals in Xichuan: "Liu Jilong only has half of Longyou, how can he support 16,000 soldiers?"

"That's right. He only has Longxi but not Hexi. He only has half of Longyou. It's already difficult to maintain 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers. I'm afraid that Yang Jianjun has been deceived!"

"Sikong, General Yang must have been deceived by Liu Jilong!"

"That's right, Sikong..."

Everyone had their own opinion and no one thought that Liu Jilian could have so many troops under his command.

Facing what everyone said, Bai Minzhong also frowned. He did not believe that Liu Jilian could raise so many troops relying on Longxi after it was harmed by Tubo.

But before he could open his mouth, Yang Fugong said, "It is very cheap to maintain troops in Longyou."

"Most of the land in Longyou is in the hands of the Tibetan nobles. After Liu Jilong's destruction, many Tibetan nobles were killed. All the arable land in Longyou is in Liu Jilong's hands. Therefore, we can imitate the early days of the country to distribute land to the soldiers to appease them."

"In addition, there are no rewards for marching or traveling in Longyou. It costs only 16 or 17 strings of cash to support one soldier each year, so we can only support more than 16,000 soldiers."

Yang Fugong obtained a lot of intelligence, but he still overestimated the military pay of ordinary soldiers in Longyou.

Of course, in his opinion, this was already an underestimated result.

"No wonder it's like this..."

Bai Minzhong narrowed his eyes and stroked his beard, with a myriad of thoughts running through his mind.

After just a moment, he came to his senses and said to Yang Fugong: "Xichuan is short of mules and horses, and we can't do without the herds in Longyou for the time being."

"That is why I agreed to open the Jiannan Road trade route and make friends with him."

"I wonder if you, Zike, brought back any useful information from your trip to Longyou this time, besides the herds?"

"Of course there is." Yang Fugong nodded, and then continued:

"Liu Jilong promised that as long as the trade route is not blocked, in the future, the price of mules and horses purchased by Xichuan from Longyou will be two strings of cash for mules and six strings of cash for draft horses."

"In addition, they also accept anyone who wants to weave brocade and silk."

"Okay!" Bai Minzhong nodded with satisfaction. He had never thought that he could buy mules and horses at such a low price.

After learning that the price of mules and horses had been determined, Bai Minzhong looked at the civil servant behind him:
"After Xichuan's money and grain were shipped to Jingzhao, how much money and grain was left in the treasury?"

The red-robed civil servant bowed upon hearing this and said, "Reporting to Sikong, there are still more than 700,000 strings of cash in the treasury, 7,200 pieces of brocade, and 224,600 pieces of silk..."

Xichuan is rich. Even though a large amount of money has to be shipped to Guanzhong every year, the money left behind can still support Xichuan's bloated treasury.

Of course, Xichuan’s biggest expense is still to maintain the tens of thousands of soldiers who do not have weapons and armor.

Since the Tang Dynasty and Nanzhao formed an alliance and reached peace, the number of troops in Xichuan has remained at around 40,000 all year round.

After Bai Minzhong came to Xichuan, he could not reduce the army and urgently needed to train a mule and horse army to deal with foreign enemies, so he had to expand the army.

Originally, he wanted to train a mule army of 10,000 people, but now that he had obtained draft horses at such a low price in Longyou, his mind gradually became active.

"I want to reduce the number of mule troops to 8,000 and recruit 5,000 cavalry troops. What do you think?"

Lieutenant General Bai Min expressed his thoughts, and the generals of Xichuan were delighted to hear and said, "As Sikong said!"

Seeing this, Bai Minzhong looked at Yang Fugong and said, "These draft horses will be incorporated into the cavalry. In addition, I hope Zi Ke can go to Longyou again to replenish the remaining 3,700 draft horses."

"If Liu Jilong is willing to sell military horses, we will buy them if we can to strengthen our Xichuan."

Although Xichuan currently has more than 50,000 soldiers and horses, except for 8,000 mule troops and 5,000 unformed cavalry troops, there are less than 2,000 military, chariot and draft horses among the remaining 40,000 soldiers and horses.

What's more, these more than 2,000 horses are basically in the western wing and the two states of Victoria, making it difficult to withdraw them.

The only people in Xichuan who can fight tough battles are the more than 7,000 people on the western front and the more than 3,000 people on the southern front.

It is for this reason that Bai Minzhong thought of training a troop of draft horses and mules.

If Liu Jilian could sell him some military horses, he might be able to train a few hundred elite cavalry.

Thinking of this, he stared at Yang Fugong, and Yang Fugong also bowed and said:

"It's not difficult to get Liu Jilong to sell his military horses. It mainly depends on whether Sikong is willing to make concessions."

Bai Minzhong frowned: "Why?"

Yang Fugong did not answer immediately, but glanced at the generals of Xichuan.

Seeing this, Bai Minzhong said to the generals and other officials: "You all should disperse."

"Yes……"

Everyone also wanted to hear Yang Fugong's opinion, but since Bai Minzhong said so, they could only bow and leave.

After they walked away, Bai Minzhong said, "Go ahead."

Seeing that the surroundings were safe, Yang Fugong spoke:

"On my way back, I heard that Liu Jilong and Minister Feng of Jiannan West Road had become father-in-law and son-in-law. I originally thought that this was a move by Minister Feng to curry favor with Liu Jilong, but on the way south, I saw that various states had set up porridge stalls, so..."

Yang Fugong paused and interrupted, "There are often rebellions by hungry people in Sanchuan under the command of Shannan West Road, but why haven't we heard of any rebellion by hungry people in Sanchuan in the past few months?"

He did not directly point out the deal between Liu Jilong and Feng Ao, but how could Bai Minzhong not understand what he meant.

His face was grim, and he glanced at Yang Fugong: "What you mean by concession is that you want me to give up the starving people in Xichuan?"

Xichuan is indeed rich, but that doesn't mean there are no hungry people in Xichuan.

Even in Chang'an City, there were many beggars, let alone Xichuan.

In response, Yang Fugong bowed and said:

"There is no need for Sikong to give up. Liu Jilong has many dental merchants under his command. When dental merchants travel from south to north, whether they are transporting goods or traveling, they need to recruit laborers to follow them."

"As long as you don't stop him, Liu Jilong will send merchants to pacify the hungry people and go north."

Fearing that Bai Minzhong would disagree, Yang Fugong quickly said, "It will be of no benefit to Xichuan if these hungry people stay here."

"If we can exchange this for Longyou horses, it will be very profitable."

"It won't be too late to stop until the horses that the cavalry and elite cavalry are missing are gathered."

After he finished speaking, Yang Fugong looked at Bai Minzhong tentatively. Seeing that he was deep in thought, he felt that the situation was mostly settled.

Yang Fugong didn't have so many ideas. He just wanted to strengthen the strength of Xichuan to avoid being invaded by Tubo or Liu Jilian in the future without any ability to fight back.

In his opinion, using some hungry people and refugees to exchange for peace and secretly strengthen Xichuan's strength is undoubtedly a very profitable deal.

Similarly, in Bai Minzhong's opinion, this deal is also very cost-effective.

With the financial resources of Xichuan, as long as Liu Jilian was willing to sell horses, he could gather the horses needed for the cavalry and elite cavalry in less than half a year.

In just half a year, how many hungry people and refugees could Liu Jilong pacify?
Thinking of this, Bai Minzhong nodded and said, "I'll leave this matter to you. You'll have to go to the four states bordering Longyou and ask them not to embarrass the dental merchants in Longyou."

"Yes!" Yang Fugong quickly responded, and Bai Minzhong turned and walked towards Chengdu City.

At the same time, the imperial edict and Cui Shu and others arrived in Didao almost at the same time.

"Do you want me to attack Shankuo to consume my strength?"

Outside Didao City, Liu Jilian, who was dressed in cloth, breathed a sigh of relief after listening to the contents of the imperial edict sent by Chen Jingchong from Weizhou. He then looked at Gao Jinda and others while holding his hoe.

Cui Shu and Shang Moyan were also nearby, but Shang Moyan's face was not looking good at this time, because he had also heard the imperial edict from the court asking Liu Jilian to recapture Shankuo.

Liu Jilong's eyes stopped on him and asked:

"Shang Moyan, you and I are old acquaintances, so I won't hide anything from you." "The court asked me to send troops to recapture Kuzhou, what do you think?"

"I..." Shang Moyan was surprised. He didn't expect Liu Jilong to be so direct. But after a moment, he felt that this was Liu Jilong's style, so he hesitated and said:

"Marshal Jie and my father have a history. I don't think Marshal Jie would want to harm my father, but the court..."

Shang Moyan had limited abilities and was not as courageous as Shang Bibi, so he had no idea how Liu Jilian would respond to the court.

In response, Liu Jilong chuckled and said, "The court wants me to recapture Kuzhou, but it doesn't mean I will kill you all. You don't have to worry."

When he said this, Liu Jilong was still laughing in his heart.

He originally wanted to recapture Shankou, and now the Tang court wanted to recapture Shankou on his own. This made it more legitimate for him to recapture Shankou, and he could also make it appear that he had no choice but to recapture it.

If Shang Bibi knew about this, she would definitely weigh the pros and cons.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong continued, "Lun Kongre of Mochanchuan is invading Kuzhou this time. If your father defends well and repel him, he will surely be able to undermine the morale of his subordinates."

"When you go back, tell your father that if he is willing to give up Guzhou and Hankou, I am willing to send troops to help him wipe out Lun Kongre."

"In addition, I will support him in establishing a foothold in Mochan River and taking over Duomai and Weixi in the south."

"Weixi has six states and more than ten cities. It is larger than Guzhou and has a larger population. Your father knows how to choose."

"Also, since Tuoba Huaiguang is determined to become my enemy, I will grant his wish and lead my troops to Shan next year."

"I hope your father can make a decision before I retake Shanzhou."

Liu Jilong gave Shang Moyan an ultimatum. Shang Moyan was shocked and said, "You want to attack Shanzhou, then Longzhi..."

Longzhi City was the base of Shang Moyan and was also the only way to attack Shanzhou from Hezhou.

Shang Moyan was worried that Liu Jilong would first take Longzhi City before attacking Shanzhou, but Liu Jilong comforted him:

"Even if I want you to leave Guzhou, I won't let you leave suddenly."

"After I recapture Shanzhou, I will send Shang Duoluo from Hezhou and Taozhou to go south with you to encircle and suppress Lun Kongre."

"After Lun Kongre is defeated, I will take his body, and Mochanchuan will belong to you."

"In the spring of next year, you will move to Mochanchuan to graze, and I will open a trade market in Hezhou, Taozhou, Diezhou, and Songzhou to trade with you for weapons, livestock, iron materials, and grain, and help you capture Duomai and the six states of Weixi."

Liu Jilong's words made Shang Moyan feel excited. After all, his father also said that he wanted to go south to Duomai.

If they could use Guzhou to exchange for trade from Liu Jilian, they would really be able to capture Duomai.

"I will persuade my father, please rest assured, Marshal Jie!"

Shang Moyan bowed in response, and Liu Jilong also looked at Gao Jinda: "Arrange for him to rest, and prepare enough horse feed for their return journey tomorrow."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda agreed, and then took Shang Moyan away.

After they left, Liu Jilong looked at Cui Shu and asked, "How is Tuoba Huaiguang managing Huangshui and Shancheng?"

"No worse than Weizhou!" Cui Shu gave a very high evaluation. After all, Weizhou is the focus of the Longyou Army's eastern defense.

"How many troops do they have?"

Liu Jilong asked again, and Cui Shu also explained:
"At a rough glance, there are at least 2,000 soldiers in the two cities. In addition, Shanzhou is mostly inhabited by foreigners, so there are at least 5,000 to 6,000 able-bodied men who can be recruited."

The Han people in Shanzhou had migrated to Ganzhou as early as when Liu Jilian and Shang Bibi were living in Shandan.

Now, most of the people left in Shanzhou are foreigners, which also gives Liu Jilong the opportunity to act freely.

No matter how strong Shancheng and Huangshui were, Liu Jilian had a way to take them.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work this time. You should go back and rest first. I have asked someone to send five pieces of brocade to my sister-in-law and the others. Remember to ask my sister-in-law to make you a set of clothes."

"Thank you, Marshal Jie!" Cui Shu saluted hurriedly, but Liu Jilong smiled and waved his hand, continuing to swing the hoe to dig a canal for the wasteland.

In Didao in November, the temperature should be below zero at night, but it is not that cold during the day.

Farmers basically open up wasteland in winter, and many jobs can only be done in winter.

At this time, Liu Jilian was leading more than 3,000 men in Didao to dig a canal.

By this time next year, the banks of the canal will be cultivated land, where crops such as beans, hemp, and vegetables will be grown.

The terrain of Longyou is complex, but generally speaking, the grain-producing areas are mainly the three prefectures of He, Lin and Wei and Wuquan County of Lanzhou in the north.

A lot of people have moved to Wuquan, and the cultivated land has reached 150,000 acres. Even if the tax rate is five-to-one, more than 30,000 shi of grain can be paid every year.

After solving the ethnic issues in the seven counties of Longnan, Liu Jilong planned to focus on the four states of Helin, Weilan and Lanzhou in population migration.

With the potential of the four states, once fully developed, it will not be a problem to feed two or three million people. The problem is how to develop it.

Relocating the population, distributing oxen and horses, and continuously reclaiming wasteland is a long process and cannot be rushed.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to the brother who was digging the canal with him, "Go and call Chen Ying over!"

"Yes!" The soldier put down his hoe and went to find Chen Ying. Soon he brought Chen Ying to Liu Jilong.

"Come on!"

Chen Ying, who was wearing a linen robe, bowed and saluted. When Liu Jilian saw him coming, he immediately stopped his work and motioned him to walk to the official road.

"There is still more than a month before the linen will be put into the warehouse."

"I want you to take the brocade, silk, and linen from the treasury and continue to be responsible for trade with Guannei Road."

"Also, can you see if you can buy slaves from the towns in Guannei Road and bring them back to Lanzhou to register them?"

Chen Ying thought that he would continue to be in charge of the trade in Guannei Road, but he did not expect that his own commander would want him to buy slaves from various towns.

In response to this, Chen Ying bowed quickly and said:

"It's not difficult to buy slaves, but the difficulty lies in the fact that every town in Guannei Road will exploit them."

"If the famine and war in Guannei Road had subsided, a slave would cost seven or eight strings of cash, and ten strings of cash if the deed tax was included."

"For example, if I bought a slave in Bining Town, it would cost at least ten strings of coins. After entering Shuofang or Jingyuan Town, I would need to pay another deed tax, and the price would be twelve strings of coins."

"Instead of buying slaves at such a high price and bringing them back to Lanzhou, it would be better to buy them from Shannan West Road..."

Under normal circumstances, the price of slaves in Guannei Road is basically twice that of slaves in Shannan West Road.

The reason why Chen Ying was able to purchase at a low price last time was mainly because the Tangut war in Guannei Road had just ended and there were still many hungry people.

However, now that so much time has passed, the price of slaves may have returned to normal.

In Chen Ying's opinion, it would be more cost-effective to purchase slaves from Shannan West Road.

However, for Liu Jilong, he needed to purchase enough people in the shortest time possible.

It takes time to purchase people in Shannan West Road, and what Liu Jilong lacks most now is time.

If the imperial court realized its mistake and transferred Feng Ao away, he would have to win over a new military governor, and the horse trade would definitely be blocked during this period.

Placing all bets on Shannan West Road was full of uneasy factors for Liu Jilong.

"The price is not important, as long as we can bring the person back."

"Just like last time, this time you will lead 400 elite cavalrymen to the north for trade after the spring, and gather intelligence on the Uyghurs of Umu and Ganzhou."

Liu Jilong gave serious instructions, and Chen Ying had no choice but to agree.

Seeing him like this, Liu Jilong patted him on the shoulder, and then seeing that it was getting late, he immediately asked everyone to go home for lunch and continue working in the afternoon.

On the way back to the city, he met Gao Jinda who was returning, and he and Gao Jinda rode back to the Protectorate together.

In the car, Liu Jilong suddenly thought of his plan to recruit Li Shangyin, and quickly said to Gao Jinda:

"I want to recruit Li Shangyin from Dongchuan to come to Longyou to serve as an official. Please write a letter for me and tell him that I am willing to appoint him as the deputy governor of Linzhou."

Although Liu Jilian did not know what official position Li Shangyin held in Dongchuan, he thought it would not be very high. After all, he wrote poems in his later years about his unsuccessful official career.

Linzhou Beijia was a fifth-rank official position, which was not considered low for Li Shangyin.

"Is the commander planning to use Li Yishan's name to recruit young men from poor families?"

Gao Jinda had been to Chang'an, so he naturally knew the name of Li Shangyin.

Li Shangyin was very famous, but his official career was not smooth, so Gao Jinda guessed that Liu Jilian wanted to use his name to recruit young people from poor families.

Hearing this, Liu Jilong chuckled and did not deny it.

After the two men returned to the Protectorate, Gao Jinda followed Liu Jilong's instructions and wrote a recruitment letter to Li Shangyin who was in Zizhou, and asked light cavalry to deliver it urgently.

(End of this chapter)