Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 292: Thousand Miles of Dongchuan
"Crackling..."

The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth brings in the spring breeze.

As firecrackers rang, the Tang Dynasty entered the second year of Xiantong.

It was just because of the court's tax increase that people everywhere had no feelings about the so-called New Year's Day and just wanted to survive.

Because of this, the sound of firecrackers this year has become much quieter, while the sound of fireworks used by the noble families to celebrate has become louder and louder.

Outside the Baidao City of Rongzhou, a military camp with a circumference of several miles appears particularly abrupt, but the elite cavalry patrolling the four states of the military camp add seven points of majesty to it.

Inside the military camp, tens of thousands of soldiers were training intensively.

The sound of weapons clashing, the shouts of the soldiers, and the vibration of horses' hooves hitting the ground intertwined together to form a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

Gao Pian stood on the command platform, his eyes sharp as torches, scanning the soldiers below.

His voice was loud and firm, penetrating the cold wind and reaching the ears of every soldier:

"Polish your weapons and hone your martial arts. These are the keys to your survival on the battlefield!"

When the soldiers heard this, they moved their hands more vigorously and their eyes became more determined.

They knew that the southern barbarians' troops were approaching and the shadow of war was already looming over their heads.

Seeing their conscious appearance, Gao Pian continued:

"You don't want your hard-earned military pay to be taken away by the barbarians in the south!"

"Hahahahaha..."

This remark caused the soldiers to burst into laughter, but there was a hint of bitterness in the laughter.

Times were tough, and many of them chose to join the army just for the meager pay.

Now the threat of Dali has made them realize that these military salaries are not only a means of supporting their families, but also something they have earned with their lives.

Gao Pian looked past the military camp and towards the Baidao City in the distance.

As the first city where the Lushui River meets the Jiang River, and also the gateway for the great ceremony to enter Bashu, the walls of Baidao City are high and appear to be easy to defend but difficult to attack.

However, only Gao Pian, the governor, knew that the Dongchuan troops had neglected training in recent years and their weapons and armor were incomplete.

Many things that should have been in the military literature were missing, which made Gao Pian bear a bad debt for nothing.

There were 23,000 soldiers in the Dongchuan and Rongzhou armies, but less than 2,000 mules and horses, not even a single military horse.

Not only that, many soldiers were old and weak and could not afford to wear armor, and the armor in the arsenal could not meet the needs of the entire army.

There were only 3,000 Dongchuan troops capable of fighting.

If he didn't have 5,000 skilled warriors under his command, he would never have been able to take over the mess in Dongchuan.

He knew in his heart that Dali's ambition would not fade because of the cold winter.

On the contrary, they might take advantage of the court's internal and external troubles to launch a larger offensive.

His reputation has already been established in Dali. If Duan Zongbang knew that he had become the governor of Dongchuan, he would definitely launch a bigger offensive against Rongzhou.

He would not give himself time to prepare. He could only train the army during this period and train the 10,000 soldiers outside Baidao City.

The wind was cold and Gao Pian's cloak fluttered in the wind.

He took a deep breath, turned around and said to Liang Zun beside him:

"Pass the order down, intensify the training, and make sure the soldiers are familiar with the new tactics before the spring. The barbarians of Dali will not give us too much time."

Liang Zan accepted the order, and at the same time, his face showed worry:
"You sent the elite cavalry and horse troops to Wang Zhongren and the other two. If they lose the city, the safety of Baidao will be in danger..."

"Nothing will happen!"

Gao Pian was very confident and his eyes were fixed on the distant horizon.

After he led his troops into Baidao City, Cui Shenyou abandoned everything and headed north.

The situation before him was very bad, but he still made the best arrangements.

He first appointed Wang Zhong to be in charge of the defense of Rongzhou, and led two generals, Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen, and 5,000 soldiers and horses brought from Lingnan to Xunzhou, Zongzhou and other cities.

There were as many as fourteen of these small towns, with a garrison of more than three thousand men.

Wang Zhongren was calm enough, while Zhang Lin and Lin Ruzhen fought bravely.

After they led their troops into the city, eight thousand soldiers and horses were stationed in the fourteen small towns south of Baidao City, of which three thousand were elite cavalry.

With their level, they are able to rely on fourteen cities including Zongzhou and hold out for more than half a year.

Facts have proved that his arrangement was correct. At least judging from several attempts made by Zong Bang before the beginning of winter, the Tang army had the upper hand.

As long as Wang Zhongren could defend the fourteen cities in the south, Gao Pian would be able to train the ten thousand soldiers in Baidao City into seven thousand elite troops before the summer.

In addition, he also sent Lu Ruyue to the rear to appease the 10,000 soldiers left in Dongchuan to avoid a fire in the backyard.

As long as there are no problems in the rear, with the 15,000 troops he has after entering summer, he will definitely be able to defend this half of Rongzhou, or even recapture the other half.

Recovering his mind, Gao Pian looked at the soldiers and horses that were training in front of him and couldn't help but frowned and said:

"With the troops at hand, it is not difficult to defend Rongzhou, but it is difficult to recover the lost territory."

"We have too few horses. The army has to walk to get going."

"What are the current prices for mules, draft horses, and cattle?"

Gao Pian looked at Liang Zun. Liang Zun looked at a military officer not far away. The military officer also walked over with great tact.

Liang Zhan repeated Gao Pian's question, and the military officer said, "Right now prices in Dongchuan and Xichuan have risen sharply, and horses have always been in short supply."

"Even ordinary mules and horses are priced at ten strings of cash, and draft horses and oxen are priced at twenty and thirty strings of cash."

"In addition, the price of grain in Dongchuan has risen even higher than that in Xichuan. Each stone of grain is already priced at 1,500 coins."

"There are only 46,000 strings of cash left in the army, including the military pay for the first month of the year. The military pay promised by the court will be paid after the Lantern Festival, and..."

The soldier suddenly hesitated, which made Gao Pian frown: "Speak!"

"This... this..." The soldier hesitated for a moment, and finally said:

"There has been no news of the imperial court's carriages heading south in Lizhou and Zizhou. I'm afraid the imperial court's money and grain will not arrive as promised. By then..."

There was no need for the army to explain this time, as Gao Pian had guessed the consequences himself.

The war was imminent, and if there were not enough military pay and money and food, his plan to train 7,000 soldiers would be meaningless.

"Don't tell anyone in the army about this for now. I will handle it myself."

Facing the crisis of delayed payment of money and grain to the imperial court, Gao Pian frowned and told the soldiers to join the army. Liang Zan asked, "Sir, do you want to ask the Prime Minister Wang..."

"No need." Gao Pian shook his head in rejection.

He did not intend to rely on Wang Zongshi for everything, because that would only make him more and more closely tied to Wang Zongshi.

He joined Wang Zongshi only to get promoted, not to be a dog in his hands.

"Then what are we going to do?"

Upon learning that Gao Pian was not going to ask the Northern Division for help, Liang Zun was suddenly at a loss.

In response, Gao Pian said in a deep voice: "I already have a plan for this matter, so don't worry too much!"

Faced with the current situation, Gao Pian knew that there were only a few paths he could take.

As the governor and inspector of Dongchuan, he held the military and political power of Dongchuan and could impose additional taxes on the people.

However, he also knew that the people of Dongchuan had already been squeezed dry by the imperial court's taxes. If he continued to pressure the people, it would inevitably cause a civil unrest.

Because of this, he only had one way left, and that was to attack the noble and commoner families in Dongchuan.

In the entire Dongchuan, only the local noble families and commoners have enough wealth to support the war.

However, how to make these powerful families willingly pay money became the key to his plan.

Gao Pian narrowed his eyes and had a plan in mind.

Soon, he brought Liang Zun back to the government office in Baidao City, and in the next half month, he sent others to deliver his invitations to the noble families and commoner families in various counties and prefectures in Dongchuan.

His words in the letter were sincere, and he specifically invited each family to come to Baidao City to discuss strategies to resist the southern barbarians.

Since he had just taken office not long ago, and the war in the south had indeed been contained under his leadership, the families were still willing to come and pay him a visit.

"Greetings, Envoy Gao..."

"Greetings, Your Excellency..."

In early February, the largest Sanxian Tower in Baidao City was booked by Gao Pian, and the entire street was blocked.

The Dongchuan Army, which had undergone more than four months of training, lined up on both sides of the street. Each man was wearing armor and holding a sharp weapon, their eyes fixed on the carriages that were allowed to pass.

These carriages look very luxurious. Each carriage alone is worth tens of thousands of dollars, not counting the horses.

"This letter from the envoy is even more pressing than the military intelligence of the southern barbarians."

In front of the Sanxian Tower, the young man sent by Chen family of Zizhou presented his invitation to Gao Pian when he saw him, with a smiling tone that hinted at something.

"Mr. Chen, please take a seat on the third floor."

Gao Pian smiled friendly and made a gesture of invitation.

Chen Langjun did not pursue the matter, but at Gao Pian's signal, he went up to the third floor of the Sanxian Tower.

"My Lord, can this really be accomplished?"

Standing next to Gao Pian, Liang Zun looked at Chen Langjun's back and couldn't help swallowing, feeling uneasy.

Gao Pian did not respond directly to him, but whispered: "The eldest grandson of the Chen family in Zizhou has come. You should know that he is the sixth-generation grandson of Chen Shiyi. If he has come, why wouldn't others come?"

The Chen Shiyi he mentioned is Chen Zi'ang, who was a brilliant writer in the past.

Although the Chen family of Zizhou is not as powerful as those aristocratic families, it is still considered a family of considerable status in Shu.

Gao Pian didn't believe that Chen family of Zizhou would not understand his intention. Since they understood and were willing to send their eldest grandson, it was obvious that they wanted to lend him a hand.

Thinking this way, after Chen Langjun arrived, he welcomed 33 more people who got off the carriages. By noon, the Sanxian Building was full, and Gao Pian also came to the third floor, holding a wine glass, and stood up from the main seat.

"The southern barbarians are now aggressive. Last year, they successively attacked dozens of cities north of Xunzhou and captured tens of thousands of people and returned to the barbarian capital."

"After I arrived in Xichuan, I used a little trick to stop the southern barbarians, but with the troops under my command, they can only hold out for the first day and not the fifteenth day."

"You are all here today at my invitation, so you should know what I want."

"Right now our army is exhausted, money and food are insufficient, and the fourteen cities in the north are in danger."

"The distance from Zongzhou to here is only about 300 miles. If there are no elite soldiers stationed here, the southern barbarian army will be able to reach the city in three to five days."

"If the southern barbarians break through the Bodao, they will certainly massacre and plunder the city, and the army will march north."

"By then, your ancestral graves, fields, houses, wives, concubines, and children will all become prey to others' slaughter, and it will all be in vain."

"But if you are willing to help, I will definitely stop the Nanman army north of Xunzhou and even recapture Zhuti and other cities!"

The noble families and commoners who were able to come to Baidao City had already been prepared to be exploited by Gao Pian.

Therefore, when he spoke out his true feelings, the families below him began to write on the wooden tablets one by one.

These wooden signs were brought before Gao Pian, and Liang Zun sang:
"Zizhou Chen family, donate 5,000 dan of grain!"

"Zizhou Li family donated 4,000 dan of grain!"

"Wang family of Jianzhou, donate grain..."

The three floors have different statuses. The third floor is for the aristocratic families, the second floor is for the large commoner families, and the third floor is for the small commoner families.

Because of this, the third-level donated grain is more than three thousand shi, while the second-level is within three thousand shi and more than one thousand shi.

Although the small common people were under great pressure from the imperial court's taxes, they dared not not donate, and they were still able to squeeze out several hundred shi of grain.

With grain prices soaring in Shu today, grain is indeed much more useful than money.

The banquet had only been going on for two quarters of an hour when more than thirty noble and commoner families gathered together more than 76,000 dan of grain in front of Gao Pian.

"Cough cough cough..."

At night, Gao Pian leaned over on the couch and retched, while Liang Zun patted his back and handed him tea at the right time.

Gao Pian took it and rinsed his mouth, then spit the tea into the copper basin and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief: "What's wrong?"

"Seventy-six thousand four hundred stones, enough to sustain the army for a month."

Liang Zhan said softly, while Gao Pian said with a dark face: "It's really not easy to get some money and food from these aristocratic families..."

Thinking back to the wine he drank tonight, Gao Pian felt a discomfort in his throat.

More than 70,000 shi of grain, this amount of grain is naturally a lot for the people.

However, those who came to Baidao City today were all members of the Dongchuan noble families and the granaries built within their families were even comparable to those built by the county government.

The price of grain in Shu soared this time. In addition to the news of Dali's invasion, the second reason for the rise in grain prices was the presence of this group of aristocratic families and commoners.

If they had not driven up grain prices, buying low and selling high, how could the grain price in Dongchuan have risen from more than 500 coins per stone to 1,500 coins in just half a year?

Thinking of this, Gao Pian's eyes flashed with displeasure, and he said coldly:
"It seems that if we want them to pay more, we have to put on an extra show."

Liang Zun nodded in agreement, and then reminded:

"News came from Zizhou that the military pay sent by the imperial court has arrived in Zizhou, but only 90,000 strings of cash."

"Based on the grain prices in Shu, this amount of money can't buy much grain."

"Ahem!" Gao Pian coughed a few times, then said after thinking for a while:
"No problem. I'll put on a good show tomorrow and let them know that I, Gao Qianli, am not just a name for nothing."

"Yes!" Liang Zun stopped and bowed, then left the yamen at Gao Pian's signal.

At the same time, four fair-skinned and beautiful women walked into the room. Two of them sat at the end of the couch, pressing their raised feet against their abdomens.

The other two women slept on Gao Pian's left and right, keeping their arms warm for him.

In such a safe environment, Gao Pian gradually fell asleep under the influence of alcohol.

"Kill! Kill! Kill..."

At 9:00 p.m. the next day, Gao Pian, after a night's rest, dressed in military uniform and walked into the military camp outside Baidao City with a stern face, ignoring the miserable situation of the noble and common people from various states in Dongchuan who were complaining behind him.

"This damn Gao Qianli..."

"Didn't we already raise so much money and food for him yesterday? What else does he want to do?"

"Greedy as a snake swallowing an elephant, this peasant..."

These wealthy families who usually lived a life of luxury had to walk through the muddy snow and follow Gao Pian into the military camp, cursing in their low voices.

Inside the military camp, the shouts of soldiers, the clashing of swords, and the vibration of horses' hooves on the ground intertwined together, creating a solemn atmosphere.

Gao Pian stood on the school platform, his eyes sharp as torches, slowly scanning the soldiers.

After several months of training by him, these Dongchuan soldiers who were originally undisciplined finally had some order and their battle formation movements could be considered neat.

They held spears, formed a square formation, and advanced forward step by step to the rhythm of drums.

Although the movements were relatively neat, Gao Pian could see the flaws at a glance.

Their steps were not steady enough and their eyes lacked the sharpness of being experienced in the battlefield.

These soldiers were far inferior to the Tianxiong Army and Chengwu Army he had trained in Qinlong, not to mention the elite troops in Longyou.

If he had 8,000 elite soldiers in Longyou, why would he worry about a fire in his backyard?

Thinking of this, he frowned slightly, and was dissatisfied no matter how he looked at it.

Compared to him, the children of Dongchuan families who were brought here by force showed expressions of surprise.

They knew what the Dongchuan Army was like better than Gao Pian.

Although the Dongchuan Army in the past did not engage in looting, its military discipline was very poor.

"Sir, these soldiers seem quite impressive."

Chen Langjun stood beside Gao Pian and spoke in a flattering manner.

In response, Gao Pian smiled faintly, his eyes still fixed on the soldiers: "Mr. Chen, you are too kind."

"These soldiers are just barely formed, and are still far from being truly elite."

He paused, and his tone suddenly turned cold: "If the southern barbarian cavalry came now, these people might not be able to hold out for even half an hour."

Without waiting for everyone's reaction, he changed the subject:
"However, with the money and food you donated last night, I am confident that I can transform these 7,000 soldiers within three months."

"Alas... If I could have enough money and food to buy enough draft horses and cattle, perhaps I could defeat the invading southern barbarians and recapture many cities."

Hearing Gao Pian say this, everyone knew what he was thinking, so they all looked at Chen Langjun.

Chen Langjun narrowed his eyes, thought for a while, and then smiled and said, "Why didn't Envoy Gao say so earlier?"

"If you had said so last night, we would have certainly helped you."

"It's not too late now." Gao Pian looked at him with a smile. Chen Langjun cursed him as an old fox, but nodded and agreed, "Of course."

After saying that, Mr. Chen turned around and looked at everyone, then said, "In order to help you raise money for draft horses, my Chen family is willing to donate another 2,000 dan of grain!"

"My Li family is willing to contribute one thousand shi of grain..."

"My royal family..."

Seeing that Mr. Chen agreed again, these noble families and commoners all spoke up with reluctance.

Even though they still had mountains of grain in their mansion, they were reluctant to give them to Gao Pian.

However, in order to protect Dongchuan from the war, they could only give flesh to the evil tiger Gao Pian.

If Gao Pian could not defend Rongzhou, they would not hesitate to use their family connections to impeach Gao Pian in the court.

Gao Pian was naturally well aware of this, but he didn't care. He only cared about how much money and grain he could raise.

While he was thinking this, in less than two quarters of an hour, these thirty or so commoners from noble families gathered more than 40,000 shi of grain.

Gao Pian was pleased and stopped making things difficult for them. Instead, he sent someone to escort them out of the camp with courtesy. Then he smiled and looked at Liang Zun beside him:

"Send someone to find out which province has cheaper horses, Guannei Road or Qinlong."

"Also send someone to Longyou to see if we can get in touch with Liu Jilong."

"It would be even better if we could get mules, horses, and draft horses from him..."

"Looking for Liu Jilong?" Liang Zan frowned slightly, obviously reluctant.

But when he saw that his envoy had become like this in his attempt to raise money and food, he had no choice but to agree.

"Then Liu Jilong is really blessed..."

Gao Pian relaxed for a moment, then put his hands behind his back and looked towards the distant Bodao City:
"If the Southern Barbarians had not sent out their troops, I think the Supreme would have turned his spearhead after dealing with the rebellion in the southeast."

"You mean the Supreme wants to eliminate Liu Jilong?" Liang Zhan's eyes lit up, and Gao Pian nodded:

"If you were the Supreme, you would think so too."

"With a tiger beside the couch, even a brave man would have trouble sleeping, let alone the current supreme ruler?"

"But this southern barbarian is no longer what it used to be. It is easy to repel him, but it is not easy to defeat him."

"In the short term, it may be difficult to deal with the southern barbarians, and the imperial court will not be able to deal with Liu Jilong."

"It would be best to take this opportunity to get some horses from him to train the Dongchuan army and increase our chances of victory."

"Yes..." Liang Zhan agreed, and then asked, "Will Liu Jilong agree?"

“Hehe…” Gao Pian chuckled when he heard this, withdrew his gaze from Baidao City, and turned his attention back to the 7,000 Dongchuan troops on the parade ground.

"Don't forget, he still has tens of thousands of troops to support, so he won't miss this opportunity to make money..."

(End of this chapter)