Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 342: War Ahead
"kill!!"

"Whoever kills Wang Xianzhi will be rewarded with one million yuan and promoted three levels!!"

"Kill the thief! Kill the thief..."

"Those who surrender will not be killed, and past crimes will not be pursued!!"

In April of the fifth year of Xiantong, the government troops and the rebel army were in a stalemate for more than a month.

During this period of more than a month, Wang Shi successively submitted memorials to exempt the people of Huainan from their overdue taxes, and then ordered all counties to open their granaries to provide disaster relief, distribute farm tools and grain seeds, and enable more than 200,000 refugees to resume production.

Wang Xianzhi saw that Wang Shi was trying to pacify the refugees, and he became anxious. He sent troops to fight him in more than 30 battles, but all ended in draws.

Now that Wang Shi had set up defenses along the Han Canal, Wang Xianzhi was unable to break through the Han Canal defense line, and the morale of the army was constantly affected and declined.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wang Shi took the initiative to attack on the tenth day of April.

On the battlefield, he personally commanded the troops of Zhongwu and Huainan towns to form a large formation and attack, causing Wang Xianzhi to gather his troops in the front, leaving the left and right sides empty.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Wang Shi ordered Wang She to lead 800 elite cavalry to detour behind Wang Xianzhi and attack him from behind with cavalry.

When the rear army was attacked, Wang Xianzhi's generals, who had no experience in large-scale battles, became panicked, and Wang Xianzhi could only order a retreat to Baoying County.

In large-scale military operations, a frontal charge is not difficult; the difficulty lies in retreating.

As expected, after Wang Xianzhi ordered the retreat, the rebel army turned the retreat into a defeat in a very short time.

Upon seeing this, Wang Xianzhi hurriedly led his troops to retreat northward, while Wang She led his elite cavalry in pursuit.

"On the tenth day of April, we defeated the bandits in Gaoyou. We had 3,000 soldiers in armor and killed nearly 50,000 bandits. Bandit Wang led several thousand remaining soldiers to escape to Haizhou..."

In the Purple Palace, when Wang Shi’s military report reached Chang’an, Li Yi, who had been depressed for a long time, also became energetic.

"Okay, okay...I really didn't use this Wang Shi wrongly!"

"On the contrary, this Li Fu was not only confused by Pang Xun's scheme, but now he does not set up defenses in Haizhou, causing the thief Wang to escape to Haizhou. This is really not good!"

Li Yi, sitting on the Golden Platform, commented on the contents of the memorial. Among them, Li Fu, who had no experience in leading troops, naturally became the object of his dislike.

Upon seeing this, Gao Qu immediately stood up and bowed, saying:
"Your Majesty, I have long said that Fu is not good at military affairs and cannot control the three armies. Prime Minister Pianlu and Prime Minister Jiang have recommended this to me, and I have no choice but to do so..."

"Your Majesty, I failed to supervise your recommendation. Please punish me."

As soon as Gao Qu finished speaking, Lu Yan immediately stood up to accept the penalty.

Compared to him, Jiang Shen was even more single. He stood up holding a tablet and said, "Your Majesty, I am old and incompetent. I feel that I am incapable of serving as a prime minister. I beg to resign and return home."

Jiang Shen's words made Lu Yan look stunned.

It's just that I recommended the wrong person, why do I need to resign from my position?

He had finally gotten the position, so was he going to follow this guy's example and resign?

Lu Yan was still struggling when he heard Li Yi on the golden stage say in a deep voice: "Prime Minister Jiang is still strong and healthy, why do you need to resign?"

"Your Majesty, I am indeed old and weak, so I am resigning. I hope Your Majesty will approve it..."

Jiang Shen was determined to resign because he felt that the situation in the world was becoming increasingly chaotic and he had to make plans early.

Only by retreating in time can you save yourself, otherwise you will be crushed to pieces.

"I will discuss this matter later." Li Yi rejected Jiang Shen's request again and asked, "How about the grain and fodder trade with Longyou?"

Jiang Shen sighed helplessly in his heart, but his face remained calm. He just bowed and answered Li Yi's question:

"We received 400,000 dan of grain from the trade, but due to the Longshan Mountains, it is inconvenient for the people to travel back and forth, so now we have only transported 60,000 dan to Taicang."

"The remaining 340,000 shi should be transported to Taicang within a month."

"However, if the imperial court wants to continue to trade grain with Longyou, it must trade with money, not silk."

There were six main types of granaries in the Tang Dynasty, namely the main granary, Taicang, transfer granary, military granary, Changping granary and charity granary.

Among them, Taicang was a large granary for storing grain in the capital, supplying grain to Chang'an City's population of one million.

Although Chang'an today does not have a population of one million, it has more than 700,000 people, and consumes about 5 million shi of grain each year.

Although the Fenwei Plain where Guanzhong is located has a well-developed water system and excellent agricultural conditions, since the Qiang Rebellion in the Eastern Han Dynasty, this place has long lost the reputation of "Land of Abundance" during the Qin and Han Dynasties.

From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong suffered frequent floods, droughts and earthquakes. In addition, due to early development and dense population, the vegetation was damaged, the climate became drier, and lakes and swamps gradually disappeared.

Nobles and common people gathered in Guanzhong. At first, they had no worries. However, as time went by, the population increased and the grain demand increased, the land became difficult to rest and its fertility decreased sharply.

In addition, fuel was in short supply for people's homes, so they could only obtain materials nearby, resulting in sparse forests in Guanzhong.

There are more than three million people in Guanzhong today, but the arable land is less than 20 million mu, and many of them are dry fields with low output.

Under such circumstances, it was extremely difficult to feed the hundreds of thousands of people in Chang'an who were not engaged in agricultural production.

This can be seen from the fact that since Emperor Gaozong, the rulers and ministers of Chang'an have gone to the Eastern Capital for meals several times.

If there were no hundreds of thousands of non-agricultural people in Chang'an, the people in Guanzhong could still be self-sufficient, and the demand for fuel would be reduced. There would be no soil erosion and a sharp reduction in arable land due to deforestation.

It’s a pity that Chang’an has now become the country’s capital, and the Eastern Capital is too close to Heshuo, so it is naturally impossible for the rulers and ministers of Chang’an to move the capital.

The emergence of the Longyou granary will undoubtedly alleviate the urgent food shortage in Guanzhong, but it is ultimately only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

But Li Yi didn't care. He only needed to ensure that there was food in Chang'an. As for the people in other places in Guanzhong... that was a problem that the court officials needed to consider, not him.

Because of this, when Li Yi heard that Liu Jilong did not want silk but money, he did not feel anything but just said:

"Since he has grain in his hands, he can transfer money from the treasury and order Qin and Long states to recruit laborers to transport the grain to Taicang."

In Li Yi's opinion, buying 400,000 shi of grain for 600,000 guan was a good deal.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shen could only remind him, "Your Majesty, now the two thieves Wang and Pang are causing chaos in the Central Plains, and the people of Xu, Si and other seven states are displaced, so it is difficult to expect taxes."

"Although Wang Shi defeated the bandits in Yangzhou, the two bandits are still alive and might even disrupt the grain transport."

"I'm afraid that the taxes from Jiangnan and Huainan this year may not arrive on time."

"I have calculated with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance that this summer's grain and money collected will be less than 3 million, and the autumn harvest may be less than 7 million."

Jiang Shen's words immediately brought Li Yi back to reality.

The Ministry of Revenue of the Tang Dynasty had been in arrears for a long time, and military expenditures were the largest part of it.

Since Jiang Shen took the initiative to mention the matters of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance, it was obvious that the annual revenue was insufficient and military pay could not be allocated.

"How much money do we need for military expenses this year?"

Li Yi sat upright, realizing the seriousness of the matter.

Jiang Shen bowed and said, "This year's expenditure is nearly 15 million, while the annual revenue of the court is only 10 million, and the debt is 5 million."

"If Wang Shi and Li Fu can protect the grain transport and ensure that the money and grain from Jianghuai and Jiangnan can flow smoothly to Chang'an, they should be able to barely raise 14 million."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Yi immediately said impatiently:
"Li Fu has no real talent, and he caused Pang Xun to cause chaos in Zibo and Qinghai. I order him to be dismissed as the punitive envoy in the eastern part of Henan, and appoint Wang Shi as the punitive envoy in Henan and Huainan. First, protect the grain transport in the Yellow River and Huai River, and then suppress the two thieves Pang and Wang!"

"I accept your order..." Jiang Shen accepted the order respectfully, and then continued:

"Even so, the court still owes hundreds of thousands of strings of cash."

"In addition, if there is another war in the southwest, the court may..."

Jiang Shen hesitated, but Li Yi said firmly:
"Gao Pian defeated the bandits at Niutou Gorge. How dare the southern barbarians invade our borders?"

Hearing him say this, the ministers couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

"Yes…"

Thousands of words can ultimately turn into just one word.

Jiang Shen stopped talking, and Li Yi continued:

"How about transporting grain from Jianghuai and Jiangnan to the capital and selling it there, and then using the money earned to buy grain from Longyou and Jiangnan?"

"This is feasible." Jiang Shen no longer asked questions, but just answered them respectfully.

"Since it's feasible, let's proceed with this plan!"

"If this plan doesn't work, then we can only make the people suffer and increase taxes by 3 cents."

Li Yi stood up and gave a solution that was not a solution.

"Yes..." Jiang Shen's face showed helplessness, and the Minister of Honglu Temple bowed and sang: "Dismiss the court!"

"Tens of millions of years old..."

The sound of cheers and salutations rang out, and Li Yi left the Purple Palace, and the ministers in the palace also left one after another. On the way back to Xianning Palace, Tian Yun suddenly bowed to Li Yi who was sitting on the sedan chair:

"Your Majesty, the Minister of the Northern Department has resigned and recommended Qi Yuanshi as the Privy Envoy and the Deputy Envoy Yang Xuanji as the Lieutenant of the Left Shen Ce Army."

"That's right!"

Li Yi showed no expression of joy or sadness on his face, but he was suspicious in his heart because of the news.

Although he had long expected that Wang Zongshi would hand over the position of Privy Councilor to his own people after serving as Privy Councilor for a few years, he did not expect that Wang Zongshi would retire after only six years.

"I obey your order..." Tian Yun didn't expect that the emperor would not show any emotion at all. She had to agree and sent someone to report the matter to the Northern Division.

Half an hour later, as Li Yi stepped down from the sedan chair and music sounded again in Xianning Palace, the eunuchs sent by Tian Yun reported Li Yi's reaction to the eunuchs of the Northern Division.

Wang Zongshi sat in the main seat, Wang Maoxuan sat in the first seat on the left, and Qi Yuanjian sat in the first seat on the right.

Going from left to right and below are Qi Yuanshi, Yang Xuanji, Yang Xuanjie, and Wang Zonghui.

"I am old too. Your Majesty may have seen my thoughts, so he is so calm."

Wang Zongshi glanced at everyone and said:
"From now on, the affairs of the Northern Division will be handed over to you. I hope you will consider our friendship as colleagues and not make things difficult for me in the future..."

"What does the Minister mean by this?"

Everyone bowed to express their attitude.

Although there were serious internal conflicts in the Northern Secretariat, as long as they stopped interfering in political affairs after retirement, they would basically not be purged.

Today, the Four Nobles of the Northern Division were all promoted by Wang Zongshi. Although Wang Maoxuan was not promoted by him, the two are also allies.

If Wang Maoxuan dealt with Wang Zongshi, there was no guarantee that someone would deal with Wang Maoxuan in the future, so Wang Maoxuan was not prepared to make things difficult for Wang Zongshi.

Qi Yuanshi's appointment as Privy Councilor would be of certain benefit to Wang Maoxuan, but Wang Maoxuan still had to choose some of his own people to protect his future prospects.

"Ximen Jixuan and Yang Gongqing are good, they can take over as the deputy envoy and the eunuch."

Wang Maoxuan recommended two of his own people. Wang Zongshi nodded and said, "These two are indeed good and can take on important tasks."

He said this to Qi Yuanjian, Qi Yuanshi, Yang Xuanjie and Yang Xuanji, and the four of them naturally understood what he meant.

Seeing the four people nod, Wang Zongshi said: "Okay, the many things in the Northern Division have nothing to do with me."

"I am tired. You are all busy with government affairs. Please go back."

"Yes..." Everyone stood up and left after hearing this. After they left, Wang Zonghui, who had been silent for a long time, hurriedly said, "Brother, what about me?"

"You?" Wang Zongshi looked at Wang Zonghui and shook his head, saying, "You are not cut out for this job. Just be a good eunuch and retire in a few years."

"I..." Wang Zonghui wanted to say something, but Wang Zongshi waved his hand and said, "Back off!"

Looking at Wang Zongshi getting up and leaving, Wang Zonghui clenched his fists, feeling full of resentment.

But he had no choice. After all, without Wang Zongshi's support, he was just an eunuch.

After facing the reality, he left the place dejectedly.

A few days later, Li Yi issued an edict to bestow on Wang Zongshi the honorary titles of General of the Cavalry, Duke of Weiguo and Grand Commander of Yangzhou, and gave him 300 coins and a mansion.

Wang Zongshi left the stage in a dignified manner, handing over the situation he left behind to Qi Yuanshi, Wang Maoxuan, Qi Yuanjian and others.

At the same time, Wang Shi, who was resting in Chuzhou, also received an imperial edict ordering him to lead his troops north to Haizhou and take charge of various towns to suppress the bandits.

He ordered Yang Gonghan of the Tianping Army to recruit 3,000 soldiers and lead his army to intercept Pang Xun in Qizhou. He ordered Li Fu, Li Xun and Li Yan to go north to Qingzhou to attack Pang Xun together with Yang Gonghan.

In addition, he ordered Yang Fugong and Wang Congjian to go to Xuanwu and Zhongwu towns, and ordered 3,000 soldiers in each town to set up defenses along the Tongji Canal and light beacon towers when encountering bandits.

After making all these arrangements, he led nearly 10,000 soldiers under his command to pacify the bandits. After a elimination, he organized the 30,000 captured and pacified bandits into 5,000 heavily armored soldiers, called the Changqiangdu. He appointed Wang She as the commander of the army and summoned Zhao Qian, the governor of Changshan, Xuzhou, as his deputy commander of the army.

After half a month of training, Wang Shi led his troops into Haizhou and pursued Wang Xianzhi who was entrenched in Qushan County.

When Wang Xianzhi learned that Wang Shi was heading north, he immediately broke out to Xuzhou in the west.

It was already the end of April when the news reached Longyou.

Liu Jilian's grain trade with the imperial court continued. All 400,000 shi of grain were transported to Guanzhong, but Guanzhong also sent 300,000 strings of money to purchase 200,000 shi of grain.

Liu Jilong exchanged a few words with Yang Zhiwen and Zhang Huaiquan, and then heard them say that they were going back to Chang'an.

"In that case, I will not see you off. Tomorrow I will send elite cavalry to escort you to Wushan County. When the autumn tax is paid to the capital, maybe you and I will meet again."

"Take care, Marshal Jie. I'll come visit you after the autumn harvest..."

Outside the main hall, Yang Zhiwen spoke respectfully, and Zhang Huaiquan bowed silently, then followed Yang Zhiwen and walked towards Yin Hotel.

Watching them leave, Gao Jinda took a step forward, looked at their backs and said:
"General Jie, this young man still can't let go of his attitude."

"Haha, that's best." Liu Jilong chuckled. He actually hoped that Zhang Yichao's descendants would be mediocre.

If everyone was as ignorant as Zhang Huaiding, it would be strange if Helong was not messed up by him.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Gao Jinda: "Go find Chen Ying later and ask him to send someone to keep an eye on Zhang Huaiding."

"This guy has no self-awareness. He might cause some trouble in the future."

"It doesn't matter if he dies, as long as he doesn't implicate the Situ family and us."

"Yes!" Gao Jinda bowed in response. Although he didn't know why his commander-in-chief despised Zhang Huaiding so much, it did not prevent him from doing his job.

"After dealing with the remaining 200,000 dan of old grain, there will only be 700,000 dan of old grain left in the government warehouse."

"If I'm not mistaken, after the imperial court receives the autumn tax, they will definitely come here to buy grain."

Liu Jilong walked into the hall, talking as he walked.

Gao Jinda was puzzled when he saw this: "Don't you admire Wang Shi very much? Why do you think he can't pacify Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi?"

"I didn't say he couldn't pacify it, but he could pacify it once, can he pacify it a thousand times?"

While Liu Jilong responded, he did not forget to remind: "Don't forget, the war in the southwest will start at the beginning of autumn or the beginning of spring next year at the latest."

"You have been asking General Yang about the situation of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Finance in the past few days. If there is a war in the southwest, where will the court get money and food to reward the army?"

"I forgot about the southwest." Gao Jinda smiled and patted his forehead.

"I'm old, my brain isn't sharp enough, and I really can't keep up with Marshal Jie's thoughts."

Liu Jilong sat in the main seat and motioned him to sit next to him, then said, "You and I will have to continue working together for decades, at least until you are eighty years old."

"Eighty years old?" Gao Jinda laughed dumbly: "Your requirements are still too high. I will be satisfied if I can live to seventy."

He has just turned fifty and is still in good health. It should be no problem for him to live to sixty, but it is hard to say whether he will live beyond sixty.

Because of this, he felt a little regretful in his heart.

He still remembered that Liu Jilian had said that he wanted to ensure that all people in the world could have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, that all children in the world could have access to education, and that children of ordinary people could become high-ranking officials.

Ten years was too short, and he was worried that he would not see that day, so if he could live to be seventy, perhaps he would be able to see it.

"In this Protectorate, the only ones who know my ideals are you, Cao Mao, Zhang Chang, and Yishan."

"I did tell other people about it, but they just smiled. I don't think they believed it."

Liu Jilong leaned back in his chair, his lips slightly raised, looking up at the ceiling.

Gao Jinda looked at him like this, and after a moment's silence, he continued, "Throughout the ages, there is a reason why good bows are hidden when the birds are gone."

"Li Ji and his men can force you to make concessions like this now, so they will dare to force you to make concessions on other things in the future."

"I have lived for fifty years, and what I have seen most is brothers turning against each other and good friends breaking up... Only then did I realize that people are not static."

"Now that peace has not yet been achieved, it is okay to indulge them. But if peace is achieved in the future, you still have to make careful plans if you don't want to repeat the same mistakes."

Gao Jinda was worried that he would die of illness in the future, and no one had told Liu Jilong about this, so he took advantage of the fact that no one was around and talked to him about it.

His words silenced Liu Jilong, and he continued, "Chen Ying and Cao Mao are both very good."

"Li Ji is impetuous, Ma Cheng is confused, Zhang Chang is rigid, only Geng Dalang is rough but meticulous."

"Your third group in the past also produced quite a few figures..."

"Indeed." Liu Jilong nodded slightly, and after a moment's silence, he said:

"If that day ever comes, I will not be lenient..."

(End of this chapter)